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Thread: Azazeal's archive

  1. #1
    The Replicant
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    Default Azazeal's archive

    I've been toying with the idea of compiling all my favourite characters in a blog series for some time now, but thought that a blog needed something more than just the character sheets to write about. Lo and behold, while I was still musing about potential essays on Grey vs Grey morality or what running themes in my characters might say about me as a person, I belatedly discovered this section of the forum and realised that I can both have my cake and eat it. So here we go - in no particular order, some of the characters I have written, and hopefully I'll keep updating periodically until I have the whole set.


    First up is:

    INQUISITION AGENT MARCUS BLACK

    "For what we are about to receive, may the Emperor make us truly thankful..."



    Featured in: He's A Dead Man, The Replicants, The Prophet In Silver, Drowning for the Cure, A Wash of Black, Kaleidoscope, Penitence

    Marc seems like a logical place to start because he is probably my most ubiquitous character, and one that I keep coming back to. This is largely due to the impressive narrative weaved by SandQueen through the Pembroke series, allowing him to develop from an undercover operative struggling with the rift this has driven between him and his family, to a seasoned investigator with strong bonds of friendship with the other returning characters. Most interesting is the arch-enemy dynamic he has developed with Kardar's character, the Chaos cultist Arcolin DeRei. Given Marc's obsessive nature and underlying ruthlessness, I can only see it ending with the death of one of them - or more likely both.

    Unfortunately that plotline was greatly delayed after SandQueen's apparent retirement from RPA. However I have always been interested in developing the character further, and exploring how he ended up skirting a dangerous path of obsession and revenge with only his friends and family holding him back. As such I started writing my own additions to the Pembroke series, set in the 5 years between the first story and Drowning for the Cure. The first of these was The Replicants, followed by The Prophet In Silver. After that came Penitence, where I am attempting to take up SandQueen's mantle and GM the long-awaited sequel to Kaleidoscope. We'll see how it goes.

    Trivia: Marc's original incarnation was a survivor named Mark Black, in a Left 4 Dead fanfic called Dead Origin. Although the character went through significant changes before appearing in 40K, I kept his name (latinising it to Marcus for a more gothic feel) and the strong family bond that had previously defined his character.

    Spoiler: Marc's Profile 
    Last edited by Azazeal849; 07-31-2018 at 02:34 PM.

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    Great idea Az, it's nice to see your thought process and a bit of history behind Marc's creation.

  3. #3
    The Big Meme
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    This is a great character.

    Post moar >: ]

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    I wanna see Daniel here next P:
    Spoiler: More from Tate 

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    Marcius > Daniel

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Felwether View Post
    Great idea Az, it's nice to see your thought process and a bit of history behind Marc's creation.
    Thanks. Like I said, I've been wanting to do this for a while now.

    Quote Originally Posted by Potatrobot View Post
    I wanna see Daniel here next :P
    Quote Originally Posted by Death of Korzan View Post
    Marcius > Daniel
    Haha. I'll put them both up, how's that?


    LEGATUS DECIUS MARCIUS

    "The enemy of my enemy...dies next."



    Featured in: Eternum: Of Gods and Demons, Eternum: Blood of the Gods, Eternum: Rise of Kronos

    I've always had funny ideas about villains. I've seen plenty of less-than-white heroes taking on villains who are even darker (Grey vs Black, as it were), but what really interests me is Grey vs Grey. Simply put, no-one self-identifies as evil or does bad things just for the hell of it (unless they're a sociopath) and I think that a black-and-white viewpoint is unrealistic and, potentially, a very dangerous way to view the real world. Perhaps this is why I liked Die Untergang better than Rise of Evil (both films about Hitler). What I found more frightening was not the hate-spitting, dog-kicking monster from Rise, but the all-too-human Hitler in Untergang. It reminds me that he wasn't an abstract monster, but a man, and that a man was capable of doing these things. It's an effective warning.

    That's enough philosophy for now, but it does lead into my current character - although admittedly, I hope he doesn't come off as anything close to Hitler. Decius Marcius is a character concept I've wanted to write for a while now, and tried once before in a sci-fi RP that unfortunately never got off the ground: the heroic villain. The idea was to have a character who fought for the designated "evil" side, and was genuinely and ruthlessly dedicated to that cause, but was otherwise a mostly sympathetic individual. Someone who is a father to his men, wants to protect his empire's civilians, has a strong sense of duty, and loves his family. To my great happiness, Death of Korzan's RP Eternum provided me with precisely that opportunity. Plus, it featured people who were essentially the Roman Empire on another planet, and how could that possibly not turn out awesome?

    Trivia: A whole bunch of inspirations went into my ideas for Decius (and the steadily increasing number of other characters I am adding to his world). A few of them were the Total War games, HBO's Rome, the new Spartacus series, and no small amount of random research which gave me little facts to throw in - like how legionaries carried their shields, or how they brushed their teeth.

    Spoiler: Decius' profile 
    Last edited by Azazeal849; 03-23-2015 at 05:14 PM.
    Spoiler: My RP links 

    PM me for novelised versions of any of my RPs, or ones that I have participated in. Set by the awesome Karma.


  7. #7
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    And...

    SIS AGENT DANIEL DOVERTON-HAWKE

    "Well, if all soldiers were honest men we’d never be at war, would we?"



    Featured in: Scorpio, Scorpio: Earthbound

    It's not often you get to play a tongue-in-cheek stereotype of your own home country, but that's exactly how this character came about. Enigma presented an interesting sci-fi with spies, assassins, and a planet that was "a romantic's idea of old-Earth Britain". The chance to muck about with a James Bond expy and some weird spy gadgets was far too good to pass up.

    As with several other characters I've written, I took a slightly silly concept but played it almost completely straight IC, resulting in something of a deconstruction of the spy tropes I was invoking. Daniel was charming, yes, but much of it was an act to hide a calculating and ruthless mind that was willing to resort to questionable methods to get the job done. In the end, exploring the balance between "charming gentleman", "ruthless agent" and "insufferable dick" turned out to be an interesting one (and one which did allow for a bit of dark comedy now and again) and Daniel is currently busy on his second tour of the Scorpio in Enigma's sequel, Earthbound.

    Trivia: This character also cameo'd in the short-lived story RPA Come To Life in which I (as in, the writer) got sucked into the RPA website. Don't ask.

    Spoiler: Daniel's profile 
    Last edited by Azazeal849; 02-20-2013 at 06:05 PM.
    Spoiler: My RP links 

    PM me for novelised versions of any of my RPs, or ones that I have participated in. Set by the awesome Karma.


  8. #8
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    Hmm...who to analyse next? Any requests?
    Spoiler: My RP links 

    PM me for novelised versions of any of my RPs, or ones that I have participated in. Set by the awesome Karma.


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    Ooh! Shrk'Jaar! I've been reading Deadmatch2 recently, fun as always.
    Spoiler: More from Tate 

  10. #10
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    SHRK'JAAR, SKAARJ WARRIOR

    "Uhr gt'cha!"



    Featured in: Deadmatch II

    Shrk'Jaar is a character who grew far and away beyond his original remit. Deadmatch was originally conceived as a simple competition and an excuse to write over-the-top fight scenes with utterly expendable characters. I followed this, picking a Skaarj because I have fond memories of the game Unreal. And then somehow Shrk'Jaar ended up winning the Most Realistic Character award for 2013. How the hell did that happen?

    Partially because I decided to play my posts almost completely seriously despite the crazy premise, and partially because I shamelessly roped some friends into forming an alliance against a team of demons. The PCs teaming up led to some quite surprising character development, allowing me to show the interesting contrast of ruthless xenophobia and unflinching honour that gave the Skaarj depth in the original game. Although I don't plan to enter another tournament game, I would definitely bring Shrk'Jaar back in a future RP. It would have to be alongside his former ally Huntsman (played by DarkPotato), as the dynamic of growing trust between a human and an alien who used to kill them on sight is something I'd like to explore further.

    Trivia: I borrowed several bits of the Skaarj "language" (phonetically, and probably inaccurately) from the original Unreal game, but the translations are my own. Also, this isn't the first time I've created a Skaarj-inspired character, although the previous was modeled on the Warlord rather than a basic warrior. Here he is - with a suspiciously similar name and battlecry! - in a RP loosely based on Final Fantasy X (8th post down).

    Spoiler: Shrk'Jaar's profile 
    Spoiler: My RP links 

    PM me for novelised versions of any of my RPs, or ones that I have participated in. Set by the awesome Karma.


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