Timageness

Smackdown's Limited Invulnerability is pretty much exactly the same as the Rahkshi Variation of the same name, just with the added stipulation that the power only works on his skin. So while knives and bladed weapons aren't likely going to make him bleed, a blow with enough force behind it, such as a mace strike to the chest cavity, for example, would still leave him with some broken ribs and the possibility of a punctured lung if not properly avoided. In that sense, it's effectively like an all-around, full-body kevlar, which is pretty much how we've been keeping that particular breed playable over at Corpus; great for additional protection, but by no means insurmountable. As far as his Bio's concerned, I thought my use of the words "seemingly" and "perceived" would've been enough to imply that his original captors were idiots and that he was simply biding his time, but that one's on me, I suppose. It's not so much that he lacks the ability to understand or speak, per se; it's just that the majority of what he knows is more or less self-taught, and, in the case of the latter, doesn't often see the need to do so. He still has a knowledge capacity similar to that of the average Steltian Elite, but aside from the "do this or get hurt" scenario, there just haven't been that many outside influences to assist in cultivating it, and there's only so much one can do by themselves. A similar example would be that of Frankenstein's Monster; "Oh, hey, I can speak and read and such, but why exactly is it wrong to start killing people again?" In other words, he's merely trying to process information that others have already had a lifetime to comprehend. Which brings me to your second point; he's been a gladiator for months now. If he didn't eventually become capable enough to do what he was told, or to differentiate between those his masters did or did not want him to fight, they likely wouldn't have kept him around in the first place, as he'd be constantly trying to launch himself into the crowd to attack the spectators as well, and that's not even considering the amount of guards they'd have to go through just to keep him contained. Prior to this, he's experienced little to no positive reinforcement at all, and every sapient interaction he's had up until then has pretty much led to some form of torture. Thrusting somebody like that into a highly populated area at the drop of a hat and not expecting them to go on a murderous rampage at the slightest hint of miscomunication is unrealistic at best. Smackdown may have started off as a one-being slaughterhouse of infinite rage, sure, but as of right now, however, he has much more self-control than he did when he originally escaped.

I originally considered typing up a darker version of you-know-who, but figured I'd give this guy a more buildable revamp instead, similar to what I did with Phantom. Name: Has none. Prefers it that way. Names are for the weak. Codename: Smackdown Species: Steltian Elite Appearance: Brown, black, and dark grey armor with gunmetal accents. Elongated head and a permanently hunched back. Heavily scarred, and jacked as all Karzahni. Powers: Elite-level Strength, Limited Invulnerability (applies to only armor and skin; doesn't affect things like bone or other interior components) Backstory: The life of the being known as Smackdown began as the illegitimate and deformed offspring of two highly influential members of Stelt's ruling class. In an effort to spare themselves from political embarrassment, his parents' respective clans had him locked away in the dungeon of an old, subterranean fortress where he was placed under heavy guard and used as a test subject for countless, cruel experiments. Surviving off of little more than his tormentor's table scraps and lacking even the most basic of necessities, his captors soon grew complacent in their duties, simply assuming that his perceived inability to speak and seemingly nonexistent educational background would be enough of an edge to help keep him in line. They didn't realise exactly how wrong they were until he began ripping them all apart with his bare hands and repainting the walls with their blood. Appropriating one of his victims' Kanohi in order to hide his own face (which, upon seeing his reflection for the first time, disgusted even him), he eventually discovered its ability during his escape through the sewers, and proceeded to cut a rage-induced, one-being swath of destruction towards the heart of the island... only to finally be overwhelmed and recaptured a few weeks later, upon which he was then sent straight to the arena. Expecting him to be put to death for his crimes, the populace could only watch on in shock and horror as he broke free of his bonds, decapitated the executioner with their own axe, and then succeeded in brutally slaughtering the other twelve guards that rushed in to finish the job. Drenched in gore, frantically searching for his next oponent, and roaring like an animal, he almost remained completely and utterly oblivious to what happened next. People began cheering and clapping... for him. Needless to say, those in charge soon deemed that it would be much more... profitable to keep him alive as a gladiator, and considering as to how they had granted him new weapons and were almost constantly giving him new people to kill, he didn't seem to mind too much at all. A couple months of viciously dismantling other fighters and performing more than a few gruesome executions later, and the Dark Hunters eventually caught wind of his existence, quickly sending an envoy in an effort to recruit him into their ranks. Tools: Kanohi Pakari, the Mask of Strength; two Kanabo forged from Repulsion Kanoka, giving them powers similar to that of a Crast Skills: Crushing, pulverising, breaking bones, tearing others limb from limb, and gouging out eyes with his thumbs. Unfortunately, "playing the Bionicle equivalent of Quidditch with his opponent's skulls" and "lollygagging" didn't fit the tone of the rest of the profle.

IC: Saffina - Cliffside (The Crimson Takea) Noticing the Matoran's reflection on the side of her ship, the Vortixx simply gazed back down at the remainder of her drink before proceeding to stir it around a bit with her straw. "Seems like someone else has decided to join in on the fun," she said, allowing the Skakdi to make her own first impression.

It's only revenge if somebody actually succeeds in taking down Exxan. Good luck with that, by the way.

That's fine; I actually had to force myself to shorten it down a bit, or else I would've spent all day on Wookieepedia. And to be honest, I forgot about the Magna Guards as well. Heck, one could probably just get away with centering a line around the other Separatist Droids in their entirety.

Honestly, I'd be fine with any of these characters getting the constraction treatment: Original Trilogy: Boba Fett IG-88 Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine Imperial Royal/Shadow Guards Prequel Trilogy: Darth Maul (Prequel, Clone Wars, or Rebels) Shaak Ti Clone Wars: Cad Bane Durge Asajj Ventress (Sith Apprentice or Bounty Hunter) Embo Seripas C-21 Highsinger Latts Razzi Savage Opress Captain Rex Pong Krell Rebels: Sabine Wren Hera Syndulla Garazeb Orrelios Agent Kallus Ashoka Tano The Grand Inquisitor and/or literally any other member of the Inquisitorius Legends: Lumiya Darth Revan Darth Malak HK-47 Starkiller (Normal, Clone, or Sith Stalker) Kazdan Paratus Maris Brood

IC: Saffina - Cliffside (The Crimson Takea) "Ideally? Five or six bodies should be enough for the task at hand; everyone gets a decent share of the loot, and our numbers would both be small and large enough to either outright avoid or overcome any potential obstacles put in our path." Not entirely too eager to rush off before she felt she was actually ready, but simultaneously wanting to depart before the two Skakdi decided to try turning their information into even more coin, Saffina simply followed up on her answer with one more additional respone. "But again, depending on how many others actually decide to show up, that's all subject to change." OOC: So far, it's just Saffina, Ektana, and Dessimus. Right now, we're just waiting for Ghidora's travel-time to expire. If anyone else wants to have their characters join in on the fun, consider this your final warning. Otherwise, we'll be departing shortly after Dessimus shows up, so feel free to let me know.

IC: Saffina - Cliffside (The Crimson Takea) Raising an eyebrow of her own, the Vortixx tilted her head in order to get a better look at the building. "Yeah... Tends to get that way immediately after someone decides to do something stupid within the walls of Capstone. Sort of like the calm before a storm or whatever." Letting her gaze linger for a few seconds longer, she simply sighed and relaxed herself once again. "Seeing as to how nobody's currently being tossed off of the plateau at the moment, I'm assuming that it was a relatively minor offense, and that the issue was settled amicably."

IC: Saffina - Cliffside (The Crimson Takea) "Possibly. Won't know for sure until we actually arrive, though." In reality, however, she somewhat doubted that in terms of variety. The ship had been from Tesara, after all, and they were renowned for producing food more than anything else, but if this particular group of Vorox had the capability to forcefully ground a craft of that size, then she couldn't entirely discount the thought of potentially coming across items of that nature. In any case, it was better to allude that there was still a chance of doing so, especially since the direction of their flight indicated that they were on a trip to Cliffside, rather than to reveal information that might dissuade an applicant from otherwise providing their assistance. "Either way, the contents themselves should fetch a fair amount of widgets once sold, and if something in particular happens to catch your eye, then factoring it into your cut shouldn't pose that much of an issue."

IC: Saffina - Cliffside (The Crimson Takea) "Well, now," the Vortixx said, stretching her legs a bit. "That depends almost entirely on one's definition of the word "treasure," doesn't it?" She paused for dramatic effect, originally intending for the question to be considered rhetorical. "For example, let's say that hypothetically, it currently applies to the cargo of a recently destroyed airship, collecting dust somewhere out in The Great Barren as it simply waits for a few... enterprising individuals such as ourselves to naturally come along and lay claim to it. In that case, I would have to agree."

IC: Saffina - Cliffside (The Crimson Takea) The pirate couldn't help but smile a bit at the sound of her own name. "The one and only."

IC: Saffina - Cliffside (The Crimson Takea) Picking up movement amidst the nearby shadows, the Vortixx quickly looked up from her drink, only to find herself suddenly eyeballing an approaching Skakdi. Well, that was fast... "You here for the job, or to simply admire the view?," she asked frankly, preparing herself in the event that the newcomer was looking to start trouble. This was still Cliffside, after all.

IC: Dahrak Nade - Onu-Koro (Streets - Outside Koritan's House) The Po-Toa scoffed and rolled his eyes, but otherwise said nothing. Whether he was going along with the Tiokaha's act or expressing his displeasure at informing a potential suspect that they might be on to him, however, was still currently up for debate.

Just some things I either wanted to point out or receive some extra clarification on: 1. As far as what can be gathered from their BS01 page, the Dark Hunter recruitment process was a lot less random than you seem to be making it out to be. While the psychological and combat training are fairly accurate, the group as a whole tended to use other tactics to increase their numbers as well; candidates are often times forced into the organisation (Gatherer), mutated against their will to prevent them from leaving (Nidhiki), or are coerced into joining due to various other reasons (such as kidnapping Mimic's companion and then offering to help him "find" her in exchange for his loyalty). In short, whether the potential recruit wants to be there or not is largely irrelevant; what really matters here is that characters are capable enough to be accepted into their ranks. Now obviously, this should only apply from an IC reasoning standpoint, as you still want the RPG to be fair and all, but I just figured that providing some additional insight into how they actually operated would make things a bit more believable. 2. While stealing back the Makoki Stone does work as a starting point for the plot itself, it might be a good idea to come up with some additional missions if and when players wish for the story to progress even further, especially since there isn't really a point in handing out rewards five minutes before the conclusion of the entire RPG. Thankfully, there's already an abundance of relatively vague events in canon (such as Orde's capture, the war with the Brotherhood of Makuta, the team sent to Zakaz following the Piraka's departure, and their occupation of Xia, just to throw some out there) that one could take inspiration from, and sprinkling a few smaller, random events in between them probably wouldn't hurt either. That way, people can also simply join up and jump in whenever instead of potentially being discouraged from doing so, simply because the game's "probably ending soon." 3. Might want to put some detail into the locations, especially Odina. You know, things like where the armory is, where they train, rest, etc. It is their home base, after all, even if they aren't trusted with its exact location until after they graduate. The list of locations can then be expanded upon as the story progresses. 4. Playing canon characters tends to be frowned upon in here unless they're GM-controlled NPCs, but there are a few other concerns I have with the current template as well. First of all, the majority of Dark Hunters were actually known by their codenames, and not their originals. Will this be making an appearance? And what beings will actually be playable? Keep in mind that the Brotherhood likely wouldn't allow one of their own to join up, and that they'd be super OP without significant nerfing. Other species, such as Botar's, who can feasibly teleport all over the MU, have similar issues as well. Even if it does turn out to be quite large and doesn't make it into the game's overview itself, I suggest having a list of the ones you'd be willing to allow in on standby before trying to progress any further. These are just my current opinions. Feel free to pick and choose whichever ones you personally feel need to be addressed.

OOC: Alright, I'm just going to go along with everything previously typed up beforehand with this so I can finally put that recent fiasco over in N&D behind me. Whether those blasts of Laser Vision were deflected or not, that's something for Aegis to decide, as his character's currently the only one in harm's way. That being said, here's Taranis and Tenjin's endgame, and one final shot in the dark from yours truly. The odds weren't exactly in our favor here anyway. IC: Taranis and Tenjin - The Iron Mahi (Passenger Car) Crashing into the booth they had just previously emerged from due to the unexpected blow from behind, the De-Skakdi was already in the midst of planning out their next move as his vision slowly began to return. Noticing a few more splotches of red coming from Kynaera's position than he was initially comfortable with, a quick glance in the opposite direction informed him of a distinct lack of any visible adversaries, and that Dalyn herself had more or less been captured as well. It was abundantly clear that they needed to even the score now more than ever. "Tenjin," he growled quietly. "Remember what we talked about before boarding the train?" "Well, it's about Karzing time!" Within moments of pushing themselves back out into the aisle, sound waves and arcs of electricity from their respective bodies began radiating out into the car around them, only to lash out indescriminately at those unfortunate enough to still be nearby. Given their already fairly cramped surroundings, which served only to amplify a portion of the impending attack, the time their closest two adversaries required to retreat and avoid being caught up in the ensuing maelstrom was limited at best. Unfortunately, however, the same could not be said for the group of spectating Matoran filling up the adjacent seats, who were now not only trapped, but also constantly being bombarded with two different types of elemental energy. True, the Toa of Sonics Kynaera was dealing with might've been able to prevent at least half of it had she been closer and not focused on fending off their teammate, but as far as Taranis was concerned, the threat they currently posed should've been enough to make those goody-two-shoes think twice before doing anything stupid. And if that happened to fail, the guards themselves would also have to concern themselves with preventing the trio from trying to call their bluff, which meant they wouldn't be able to focus entirely on the battle at hand. "Back off! Drop your weapons, get down on the floor, and let us and our associates collect what we're after! Comply, and the hostages live to see another day!" "Don't, and you'll be pulling them all out of here in body bags! ####, you might even have to do that for a few of them anyway, depending on how slow you all are! First one dies soon, so choose wisely!"

IC: Dahrak Nade - Onu-Koro (Streets - Outside Koritan's House) Well, there goes that plan. Trying his best to hide his annoyance, Dahrak remained silent and decided to let the Tiokaha do the talking for the time being. Personally, he didn't think the conversation would amount to much, but life seemed to enjoy proving him wrong...

So true. This is pretty much what's been keeping Corpus active recently. The last post I can even find from Wyrd was made all the way back in March 2016. Aside from monitoring player activity and judging the occasional character profile, we Sub-GMs haven't really had to step in at all; everyone's basically just been roaming around and doing their own thing.

Awesomesauce. Speaking of said quest, aside from Ghidora, I believe that the only other player to express interest so far was PermanentlyExtinct. In the event that I've missed anyone, or somebody wishes to join up/back out, feel free to let me know.

OOC: Just got word from Sil. We're bunnying Mura. On the upside, you'll still have someone to talk to though, so there's that. IC: Xhalia/Verulas (Spectre) - Obsidian Outpost (Courtyard) "You'll have to forgive my fellow co-worker. He obviously forgot to bring his manners outside with him," the Bo-Toa said, hoping the illusion he was trying to project still remained intact. "While he is still technically correct, I'm assuming that what you're actually in the market for is a guide. Allow me to step inside for a moment so I can see if we have one available. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes." Sliding past the group and swiftly opening the door a crack, he quickly pushed his way into the building's interior, only to close it behind him once again, allowing him to silently roll his eyes now that he was no longer within view. Seriously? Out of everyone who wasn't sent out on a mission, they had to send Mr. Talkative to go answer the door? Soon afterwards, much to his annoyance, he realised exactly why the Ko-Toa had been the only one to greet them; for the most part, the Outsiders had all left the building. What the Karz...? Where the #### is everyone? Sure, Veteran was still passed out at the bar, and it took everything he had to fight back the sudden urge to mess with him (I'll just make a mental note to flip his eyepatch around later.), but he sincerely doubted that the Skakdi was in any shape to make the trip. He was just about to go wandering around in search of somebody else when his peripheral vision picked up a somewhat familiar shape sitting over by the window. Guess he's back from his mission too. Hope it went better than ours did. "Hey, Chuckles! Mind filling me in on where - oh." The Vortixx that looked up at him was definitely not Enforcer, which was even more embarrassing for him, considering as to how they looked nothing alike and weren't even of the same gender. And on top of all that, she didn't seem amused. And this is what happens when you stop paying attention to details. Stay in school, kids. "Pardon?" "Yeah, uh, sorry about that. Thought you were someone else for a moment." "Ah." It took him a few seconds for it to dawn on him as he rubbed the back of his head in shame. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where Ihu-Koro is, would you?" A few moments later and the Vortixx smugly followed the mercenary, who was clearly still confused as to how she had managed to talk him out of two hundred widgets in exchange for her services, back outside. "So, yeah... This is Xhalia, and she'll be taking you to Ihu-Koro. Was there anything else you needed?" "Pleasure to meet you," she drawled, listening to the metal jingle inside the newly acquired pouch at her belt.

Timageness hasn't been posting in this game for over a month now because Timageness is currently waiting to see if anyone else wants in on the quest he's waiting to start, hence the notice he made in here roughly two pages ago; there just haven't been many other people willing to type up criminal characters in Cliffside. Despite his horrible luck at profile approval recently, if a character still has a link in his signature, then it's a safe bet that he still considers them to be active. And for the record, her ship is more or less parked right outside of Capstone, as evidenced by her very first post IC. That being said, Nato, he'd suggest that the next time you think you're speaking on someone else's behalf, you take a bit of your own advice.

IC: Dahrak Nade - Onu-Koro (Streets - Outside Koritan's House) It had taken some time to weave their way back through the bustling city streets, and there were more than a few vendors that weren't exactly dulling his migraine by loudly and obnoxiously advertising their wares, but despite the Po-Toa's sudden urge to start punching them all in the face, the duo eventually found themselves facing the residence of the village's current Chief Researcher without incident. Taking in the sight with a relatively blank stare, he began scanning the area for any relevant points of interest, such as alternate means of entry and whether or not there happened to be any guards posted outside.

IC: Dahrak Nade - Onu-Koro (Golden Pickaxe Inn - Lobby) ... ... ... Screw it. Fortune favors the bold. "Searching through Mekhanta's belongings will kill time while we're waiting for Koritan to get home from work. Probably best to start there." In reality, they were going to be making a small little "detour" to the Chief Researcher's residence first, mostly just to scope the place out. If they could get in without anybody noticing, great. And if someone was around to inquire as to why they were there, then they could always simply fall back on the excuse of poor timing and leave. Either way, the Ussalry had kept the dead man's stuff around for this long; he didn't exactly expect that to change within the next ten or twenty minutes.

If I recall correctly, Requiem originally took inspiration from the Dark Hunters while creating The Outsiders for the BZPRPG. That being said, this effectively makes them the closest active reference point that we currently have available for literally any form of comparison whatsoever. And again, both rely heavily on the amount of people actually willing to play mercs, which has taken a rather serious dip as of late. In short, not wanting to do so in an RPG centered soley around the Dark Hunters pretty much means that you don't get to participate at all, since it's essentially a mandatory requirement.

IC: Dahrak Nade - Onu-Koro (Golden Pickaxe Inn - Lobby) Sparing a momentary glance at the directions before stuffing them, along with the bounty notice, back into his trenchcoat, Dahrak simply proceeded to make his way down the stairs, assuming that the Tiokaha was still following behind him. He didn't know whether the other being had actually managed to see them or not, but at this point, it didn't really matter. True, the two of them could theoretically cover more ground if they decided to split up, but seeing as to how they each probably trusted the other as far as they could throw them, it was much more likely that one would only attempt to leave the other high and dry in the event that they actually discovered something. So in other words, this effectively meant that whatever course of action one of them decided to take, they were both now more or less in the same boat. Before them sat two potential paths to follow, each with their own unique advantages and disadvantages. The safer one obviously consisted of heading back to the Ussalry first and requesting access to Mekhanta's belongings, which either way, would likely occupy enough of their day to allow Koritan to return home from his job by the time they finally got around to questioning him. Unfortunately, as far as he was aware, however, neither of them had a Rhode in their possession, and that plan would almost soley rely on questioning the current Chief Researcher if that particular lead didn't go anywhere. And seeing as to how neither of them were actually with the Ussalry, the chances of them getting him to admit to any potential wrongdoing on his part were already slim to none. Needless to say, Dahrak wasn't exactly thrilled with this. On the other hand, though, the second option was way riskier by comparison, and he liked this one even less. If they paid his house a visit first, while he was still occupied at work, then they could possibly determine whether or not he had any part in the theft without even having to speak with him at all. The locks probably wouldn't pose that much of a problem for his Matatu, and if they were quick, quiet, and didn't happen to unnecessarily disturb anything, nobody would have any reason to believe they were there to begin with. Not being part of the Ussalry meant not having to wait around for things like warrants, and he sincerely doubted that they'd discount anything they happened to find in there, especially if it just so happened to anonymously find its way on top of somebody's desk. Of course, if they were caught in the act, chances were that they were more than likely going to be charged and locked up, which meant that they could pretty much kiss all that reward money goodbye anyway. And on top of all that, the Tiokaha was kind of hard not to notice... Cursing silently, the Po-Toa figured that, as of right now, the best course of action would be to wait and see which location his "partner" wanted to visit first before finally making up his mind. Either way, both leads had about a fifty-fifty shot of turning up nothing, and both still needed to be investigated further, so in the end, it probably wouldn't even end up mattering that much in the long run.

Speaking as one of the individuals (the other being Strider, in this case) who currently control the highest ranking active characters in The Outsiders, a.k.a. the BZPRPG's morally neutral take on The Dark Hunters, I can pretty much safely say that there probably aren't going to be many people who would be willing to back the idea if it's soley centered around that one particular concept. Not that it isn't interesting, mind you; personally, I'd love to see something like that get up and running. It's just that mercs don't seem to be the most popular character choice these days. Over the past two years, we ourselves have dropped from about 13 different players with something like 20 associated characters down to around 4 and 6, respectively, and aside from Ghidora, nobody's even gone so far as to express interest in joining for at least a year. Granted, something like this could serve as a much needed jump start if it ever managed to take off, but realistically, in the hypothetical (and highly improbable) event that a game like that was suddenly approved for play and posted for others to jump into tomorrow, I'd expect nothing less than an uphill battle.