Simone Bucharest (WIP)

[The Harrowed]

Personal information and social status
Name: Simone (Simon) Bucharest
Race: Mage/'Witch'
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Appearance: Minus the rings on 'her' fingers. Not shown: An ankle-length blue dress, black thigh-high socks and brown high-heeled boots. The collar of the 'mantle' is high enough to hide 'her' Adam's apple. Otherwise 'her' looks and voice are feminine enough that mistaking 'her' for a girl is easy enough to be the normal response for people around 'her'.
Personality: Long periods of isolation with only dolls for companionship have not done Simone's social skills any good. Around people 'she' tries to act as a noble woman should, but 'her' behavior often comes across as stilted and awkward. Add in 'her' penchant for acting as if her dolls were servants rather than tools, and her occasional bouts of glassy-eyed stillness, and most people come away feeling somewhat put off by 'her' presence. 'She' only 'opens up' when able to discuss 'her' dolls and the magic behind them, but even then 'she' always tries to act as she sees 'proper'.
Home Realm: Native
Affiliation: None (for now)
Alignment: Neutral

History: Simon Bucharest was born into the main branch of the Bucharests, a minor noble family of the Ice Kingdom. The younger of two siblings by eight years, it ws expected that his elder sister would eventually lead the family as baronetess. This suited the young Simon fine, as he preferred to play with his two younger cousins and learn magic rather than the minutae of political life that his sister studied. His father and uncle handled the textile business that generated the family's wealth, his mother ruled the household and handled the other nobles, and his sister was raised to follow in their mother's footsteps. It was during this time that Simon came to think that the Lady of the Manor outranked the Lord, since his father often deferred to his mother on matters outside the family business.

When Simon was seven, he came down with a bout of influenza that forced him to remain at home while his parents and sister traveled on business to one of the family's farms. Four days later, he learned that they had been killed in a bandit ambush, leaving him as the only surviving member of his branch of the family. His uncle, a kindhearted man but somewhat bumbling outside the textile business, had no idea how to handle the grief-stricken boy. So, rather than try to reassure the boy and maybe move him into the uncle's manor, he left his care to the household staff of the father's home and threw himself into managing the textile business. The governess and housekeeper both tried to help the boy, but as he gradually withdrew into himself both ended up resigning their positions, leaving Simon alone with naught but the cleaning staff and his sister's dolls for company.

During this time, he realized that, as the last member of his family's branch, he would have to take on his mother's role as head of the household. However, his mind had connected that position with being female, and so Simon believed that he had to become a girl in order to take up the role. The cleaning staff, fearing that they would be dismissed if they reported to the uncle that young Simon had started wearing his sister's old dresses, chose instead to help the young boy as best they could in his goal of becoming the 'lady of the manor'.

It was during this period of isolation that Simon stumbled onto a chest of items left by 'her' great-grandfather after his death. Among the items were a pair of books, one on alchemy and another on the use of magic to manipulate puppets and dolls. The young boy was captivated, and quickly became adept at both disciplines. He also took up sewing during this time, using lessons from the cleaning staff to create 'her' own dolls and loading them with a unique explosive that would only go off with a specific trigger. During this time 'she' first became interested in trying to create truly autonomous dolls as companions after over five years almost entirely alone.

At age 14 'her' uncle decided it was time for his recluse of a 'niece' to rejoin society. Thankfully, by then most of the nobility had forgotten that Simon even existed, so noone commented on how the heir to the Bucharest name had somehow gone from male to female. However, few were willing to spend any great length of time in 'her' presence, finding 'her' penchant for talking to 'her' dolls and occasional episode of eerily doll-like stillness unsettling. Simone, for 'her' part, didn't care what the nobility thought of 'her'. 'Her' focus was entirely on 'her' dolls and how to use 'her' magic with them.

Now rumor has reached 'her' of the work of another puppeteer mage, one of 'her' ancestors, being found in the remains of the Earth Kingdom. Could this contain the secret of making truly independent dolls?...

Combat potential
Weapons: Dolls typically wield miniature (as in, appropriately sized for a halfling or hobbit) halberds and tower shields.
Armor: None
Enchanted weapons/accessories: Dagger with minor sharpness and armor-piercing enchantments (as in, doesn't need maintenance and will subtly guide itself toward weak spots in the armor), dolls (technically), spellbook (waterproofing and structual reinforcement enchantments)
Weaknesses: Civilian: While skilled at fighting with dolls, 'she' has no formal training and barely any experience in fighting with 'her' own body.
Lady of the Manor: Simone's desire to be a worthy successor for 'her' family (coupled with a seven-year-old 's uncorrected misunderstanding) causes 'her' to try to act at all times like 'the perfect noble lady'. 'She' will refuse to acknowledge anyone referring to 'her' as male in public, and will try to correct them if in private.

Magical potential
Special/Racial Abilities: Alchemist: Simone is a fairly skilled alchemist, capable of creating both explosive compounds (including the gunpowder put into 'her' dolls) and minor healing salves.
Seamstress/Tailor: Simone is very skilled at making and mending cloth items, and 'she' usually puts this skill to work in making dolls, doll clothing, and 'her' own clothing.
Magical Affinity: Arcane
Spells Known (32/55sP):
Puppeteer's Theater (5 sP): Simone withdraws up to 20 dolls and animates them via invisible, intangible and indestructible strings. 'She' can see through their eyes and channel magic through them. She can control them up to 100 feet away, and can make them fly as long as they are in range. If she animates 10 or less, the dolls are capable of performing basic tasks (retrieving, carrying, or moving objects, making tea, chopping vegetables if the vegetable itself is anchored in place, etc.) without her conscious control. 5 or less, and the dolls are capable of performing complex tasks independently, such as laundry, cooking full meals, dressing themselves or others, etc.
Explosive Trigger (1 sP): Simone sets off the gunpowder in one or more of 'her' dolls. This requires little magic, as the actual explosion is caused by the gunpowder already inside the doll. The explosion, and the iron shrapnel it propels, is on par with a modern frag grenade.
Repair Object (1-5 sP, depending on object size, limit is the size of a wagon): Simone rapidly restores an object to its undamaged state. 'She' typically uses this to repair her dolls after they're destroyed, either by an enemy or by Explosive Trigger (1 sP per doll).
Seeker Beam (3 sP): Simone (or one of 'her' dolls) fires a pencil-thin beam of light mana at a target. Despite the name, it does not actually 'seek' out a target. While the beam cannot penetrate armor, it can effectively burn an opponent's unarmored parts. Simone can fire up to ten such beams at once at one or multiple targets, though 'she' needs a doll to fire each beam past the first (one doll for two beams, two dolls for three, etc.). Each shooter can fire at a different target from any of the others.
Cursed Doll (3 sP): Simone infuses a doll with dark mana and commands it to latch onto a target. The doll latches onto the target, locks its joints, and cannot be removed or damaged. As long as the doll remains attached to the target, regardless of their distance from Simone, they suffer a 65% physically weakening curse. The mana burns the doll to dust after 4 posts.
Hanged Doll (5 sP): As an opponent attacks one of Simone's dolls they can see the doll hang itself in mid-air, and suddenly their own neck is strangled. Despite the name, this spell actually causes an attack on a doll to be reflected back on the attacker. In the case of a purely physical attack (sword, arrow, thrown rock, etc.), the force is reflected back with the sensation of being hung by the neck. Master-level and stronger spells cannot be reflected. Simone will often block an attack on 'herself' with a doll to use this spell.
Yo-yo Doll (1 sP): Simone briefly gives a doll's strings more magic, allowing it to attack once beyond 'her' normal range before being yanked back.
Doll Space (5 sp, constantly active): Simone carries most of 'her' dolls in an extradimensional space linked to 'her' clothing. This allows her to carry many more dolls without being weighed down by them or their tools. Up to five dolls can be deployed per post.

[Arin]

Explosive Trigger: I understand this is a rookie level spell, or magic required to mix and set off alchemic chemicals in the dolls. Due to the complexity of this mix of alchemic and magic skils, I at least need to know how intense the blast will be. And since the explosion will no doubt exhaust the chemicals in the dolls, I'm gonna have to say it's a limit of explosions of however many dolls have the components in them per combat, until the components are replaced (since there's a repair spell in her arsenal). In addition, I'm going to need a set number of how many of her dolls actually have this explosive material in them.

Cursed Doll: Gonna need specifics on how powerful this weakening curse is, so it can properly be played out.

Hanged Doll: I'm going to need specifics on how this spell actually reflects itself onto enemies. And since it actually is a 'reflection' spell, in a sense, I'm going to need a cooldown or a limit of uses per combat, unless I know how severe the effects are.

Yo-Yo Doll: how often can this spell be used, and how many dolls does this affect at once?

Doll Space: Given the number of dolls she has, how many can she summon forth per turn. All at once might be a bit much, so I can approve of smaller groups that she can summon and hide at once.

Also, how large are these dolls exactly? Just so I have an idea of the mass they take up.

[The Harrowed]

On Explosive Trigger: Each doll can only explode once, both because it uses up the compound and because the doll is destroyed in the explosion. Blast radius and intensity are both variable and independent of each other. Max intensity is about the same as 4 1/2 pounds of C4, max blast radius is about 20 feet. As for how many of 'her' dolls... all 60 of them, at this time. The compound are easily replaceable, though. Practically any alchemist's shop will have the ingredients needed to make it.

On Cursed Doll: Difficult to give an exact answer on this one, given the forum's format, hence why the description is vague. Suggestions would be appreciated.

On Hanged Doll: Magic or other energy-based attacks are 'caught' and fired back. I already described how physical attacks work. As for cooldown... once every three to five posts, maybe? The severity is equal to the severity of the attack being reflected.

On Yo-yo Doll: One doll at a time, and at will as long as there's still mana in the area and there isn't a doll already affected by it.

On Doll Space: Given the dolls' relatively small size, ten or so at a time actually seems fair.

Each doll is about 8 inches tall. 'She' may make other types of dolls later on, but the standard version (and the only ones 'she' has right now) are all that size. And yes, they still effectively use their almost comically large (to them) weapons and shields.

[Arin]

E.Trigger: So, I did some comparison vids on for close to the maximum explosive force you gave me, and the amount of explosive force to destroy a bus is a bit much for all of the dolls to have an unspecified explosive force behind that. I would have to say you're going to need to specify exactly how many of all these dolls have what amount of explosive force in them, the max explosive force I'm going to have to limit to only 1, and the max force will have to be a fraction of what you gave me. I understand it's a simple spell, but for something that devastating, alchemic based or not, at the lowest ranked on the power scale, that needs to be reduced.

Cursed Doll: Examples I would suggest would be to put the effects into fractions or percentages; how much is their strength, speed, etc going to be weakened, and what is being weakened specifically.

Yo-Yo Doll: That seems fair, as long as it's limited to just the one doll.

Doll Space: Unless you can limit how many dolls are detonated with explosive trigger, I will have to say 10 is too many, even for their small size.


I'm sorry for the strict criticism, I'm just going off of past experience to avoid OP combos. Prythian and I did that without realizing it on another forum, so I just want to avoid anything like that from happening here. I trust you won't do that, but I still go with my better judgement to prevent that possibility from being there.

[The Harrowed]

On Explosive Trigger: I've limited it to each doll being on par with a normal frag grenade.

On Doll Space: I've limited it to five per post.

And yes, Simone knows how to make gunpowder. Not smokeless powder like what's used in modern firearms, but the black powder first developed around the thirteenth century. That's just charcoal, sulfer, and saltpeter in the right proportions. That plus small scraps of iron bought cheaply from any blacksmith (or just scavenged from their refuse piles) put into a doll and bam! One potential flying bomb.

And on that note, Simone's not likely to use the dolls in a mass suicide charge like you're afraid of. For starters, that would risk leaving 'her' defenseless. Second, 'she' can only make about four dolls a day, and that's if she devotes the whole day just to making dolls. When travelling that number's going to be brought down to just 1 doll. That's too much time and effort for her to treat them as just flying bombs.

I'll think on Cursed Doll when I've calmed down a bit.

[Arin]

E.Trigger: That's fair. Having too vague of a number on explosive force was why I was so concerned over this one, but this balances it out much better.

Doll Space: 5 per post works out, especially now that I know about the 4 dolls per day limit.

Whenever you're ready to, I'll review Cursed Doll, once you've come up with specifics on how it works. No rush bud.

[The Harrowed]

Edited Cursed Doll and added alignment. What do you think?

[Arin]

Hmm...I would say maybe nerf the percentage to maybe 60%, and that should be fine. Once that's done, "Simone" is approved.

[The Harrowed]

Is 65% fair?

[Arin]

Works for me, 'she' is approved. I'll copy the text code and post it in this reply, so you can update her later if you want.



[b][u]Personal information and social status[/u][/b]
[b]Name:[/b] Simone (Simon) Bucharest
[b]Race:[/b] Mage/'Witch'
[b]Age:[/b] 18
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Appearance:[/b] [a href="https://www.zerochan.net/217324"][img style="max-width:100%;" src="https://s3.zerochan.net/Alice.Margatroid.240.217324.jpg"][/a]  Minus the rings on 'her' fingers.  Not shown: An ankle-length blue dress, black thigh-high socks and brown high-heeled boots.  The collar of the 'mantle' is high enough to hide 'her' Adam's apple.  Otherwise 'her' looks and voice are feminine enough that mistaking 'her' for a girl is easy enough to be the normal response for people around 'her'.
[b]Personality:[/b] Long periods of isolation with only dolls for companionship have not done Simone's social skills any good.  Around people 'she' tries to act as a noble woman should, but 'her' behavior often comes across as stilted and awkward.  Add in 'her' penchant for acting as if her dolls were servants rather than tools, and her occasional bouts of glassy-eyed stillness, and most people come away feeling somewhat put off by 'her' presence.  'She' only 'opens up' when able to discuss 'her' dolls and the magic behind them, but even then 'she' always tries to act as she sees 'proper'.
[b]Home Realm:[/b] Native
[b]Affiliation:[/b] None (for now)
[b]Alignment:[/b] Neutral

[b]History:[/b] Simon Bucharest was born into the main branch of the Bucharests, a minor noble family of the Ice Kingdom.  The younger of two siblings by eight years, it ws expected that his elder sister would eventually lead the family as baronetess.  This suited the young Simon fine, as he preferred to play with his two younger cousins and learn magic rather than the minutae of political life that his sister studied.  His father and uncle handled the textile business that generated the family's wealth, his mother ruled the household and handled the other nobles, and his sister was raised to follow in their mother's footsteps.  It was during this time that Simon came to think that the Lady of the Manor outranked the Lord, since his father often deferred to his mother on matters outside the family business.

When Simon was seven, he came down with a bout of influenza that forced him to remain at home while his parents and sister traveled on business to one of the family's farms.  Four days later, he learned that they had been killed in a bandit ambush, leaving him as the only surviving member of his branch of the family.  His uncle, a kindhearted man but somewhat bumbling outside the textile business, had no idea how to handle the grief-stricken boy.  So, rather than try to reassure the boy and maybe move him into the uncle's manor, he left his care to the household staff of the father's home and threw himself into managing the textile business.  The governess and housekeeper both tried to help the boy, but as he gradually withdrew into himself both ended up resigning their positions, leaving Simon alone with naught but the cleaning staff and his sister's dolls for company.

During this time, he realized that, as the last member of his family's branch, he would have to take on his mother's role as head of the household.  However, his mind had connected that position with being female, and so Simon believed that he had to become a girl in order to take up the role.  The cleaning staff, fearing that they would be dismissed if they reported to the uncle that young Simon had started wearing his sister's old dresses, chose instead to help the young boy as best they could in his goal of becoming the 'lady of the manor'.

It was during this period of isolation that Simon stumbled onto a chest of items left by 'her' great-grandfather after his death.  Among the items were a pair of books, one on alchemy and another on the use of magic to manipulate puppets and dolls.  The young boy was captivated, and quickly became adept at both disciplines.  He also took up sewing during this time, using lessons from the cleaning staff to create 'her' own dolls and loading them with a unique explosive that would only go off with a specific trigger.  During this time 'she' first became interested in trying to create truly autonomous dolls as companions after over five years almost entirely alone.

At age 14 'her' uncle decided it was time for his recluse of a 'niece' to rejoin society.  Thankfully, by then most of the nobility had forgotten that Simon even existed, so noone commented on how the heir to the Bucharest name had somehow gone from male to female.  However, few were willing to spend any great length of time in 'her' presence, finding 'her' penchant for talking to 'her' dolls and occasional episode of eerily doll-like stillness unsettling.  Simone, for 'her' part, didn't care what the nobility thought of 'her'.  'Her' focus was entirely on 'her' dolls and how to use 'her' magic with them.

Now rumor has reached 'her' of the work of another puppeteer mage, one of 'her' ancestors, being found in the remains of the Earth Kingdom.  Could this contain the secret of making truly independent dolls?...

[b][u]Combat potential[/u][/b]
[b]Weapons:[/b] Dolls typically wield miniature (as in, appropriately sized for a halfling or hobbit) halberds and tower shields.
[b]Armor:[/b] None
[b]Enchanted weapons/accessories:[/b] Dagger with minor sharpness and armor-piercing enchantments (as in, doesn't need maintenance and will subtly guide itself toward weak spots in the armor), dolls (technically), spellbook (waterproofing and structual reinforcement enchantments)
[b]Weaknesses:[/b] [u]Civilian:[/u] While skilled at fighting with dolls, 'she' has no formal training and barely any experience in fighting with 'her' own body.
[u]Lady of the Manor:[/u] Simone's desire to be a worthy successor for 'her' family (coupled with a seven-year-old 's uncorrected misunderstanding) causes 'her' to try to act at all times like 'the perfect noble lady'.  'She' will refuse to acknowledge anyone referring to 'her' as male in public, and will try to correct them if in private.

[b][u]Magical potential[/u][/b]
[b]Special/Racial Abilities:[/b] [u]Alchemist:[/u] Simone is a fairly skilled alchemist, capable of creating both explosive compounds (including the gunpowder put into 'her' dolls) and minor healing salves.
[u]Seamstress/Tailor:[/u] Simone is very skilled at making and mending cloth items, and 'she' usually puts this skill to work in making dolls, doll clothing, and 'her' own clothing.
[b]Magical Affinity:[/b] Arcane
[b]Spells Known (32/55sP):[/b]
[b]Puppeteer's Theater (5 sP):[/b] Simone withdraws up to 20 dolls and animates them via invisible, intangible and indestructible strings.  'She' can see through their eyes and channel magic through them.  She can control them up to 100 feet away, and can make them fly as long as they are in range.  If she animates 10 or less, the dolls are capable of performing basic tasks (retrieving, carrying, or moving objects, making tea, chopping vegetables if the vegetable itself is anchored in place, etc.) without her conscious control.  5 or less, and the dolls are capable of performing complex tasks independently, such as laundry, cooking full meals, dressing themselves or others, etc.
[b]Explosive Trigger (1 sP):[/b] Simone sets off the gunpowder in one or more of 'her' dolls.  This requires little magic, as the actual explosion is caused by the gunpowder already inside the doll.  The explosion, and the iron shrapnel it propels, is on par with a modern frag grenade.
[b]Repair Object (1-5 sP, depending on object size, limit is the size of a wagon):[/b] Simone rapidly restores an object to its undamaged state.  'She' typically uses this to repair her dolls after they're destroyed, either by an enemy or by Explosive Trigger (1 sP per doll).
[b]Seeker Beam (3 sP):[/b] Simone (or one of 'her' dolls) fires a pencil-thin beam of light mana at a target.  Despite the name, it does not actually 'seek' out a target.  While the beam cannot penetrate armor, it can effectively burn an opponent's unarmored parts.  Simone can fire up to ten such beams at once at one or multiple targets, though 'she' needs a doll to fire each beam past the first (one doll for two beams, two dolls for three, etc.).  Each shooter can fire at a different target from any of the others.
[b]Cursed Doll (3 sP):[/b] Simone infuses a doll with dark mana and commands it to latch onto a target.  The doll latches onto the target, locks its joints, and cannot be removed or damaged.  As long as the doll remains attached to the target, regardless of their distance from Simone, they suffer a 65% physically weakening curse.  The mana burns the doll to dust after 4 posts.
[b]Hanged Doll (5 sP):[/b] As an opponent attacks one of Simone's dolls they can see the doll hang itself in mid-air, and suddenly their own neck is strangled.  Despite the name, this spell actually causes an attack on a doll to be reflected back on the attacker.  In the case of a purely physical attack (sword, arrow, thrown rock, etc.), the force is reflected back with the sensation of being hung by the neck.  Master-level and stronger spells cannot be reflected.  Simone will often block an attack on 'herself' with a doll to use this spell.
[b]Yo-yo Doll (1 sP):[/b] Simone briefly gives a doll's strings more magic, allowing it to attack once beyond 'her' normal range before being yanked back.
[b]Doll Space (5 sp, constantly active):[/b] Simone carries most of 'her' dolls in an extradimensional space linked to 'her' clothing.  This allows her to carry many more dolls without being weighed down by them or their tools.  Up to five dolls can be deployed per post.