Nikki

History

Marcus... is my father.

No, that’s not actually correct.

Marcus was my father.

That’s a lie. Let me begin again.

The man who raised me, Marcus Carlson (a.k.a. too many names to mention), treated me as if I were his daughter. I am not, though I thought I was for most of my life. I learned a few years ago that Marcus stole me as an infant, from a hospital, when I was just a few hours old. He raised me as his own.

More correctly, he trained me to be his star pupil. From the time of my birth, he had trained me to be what I am today. And what I am, more than anything else, before anything else, is Chakravanti, a servant of the Wheel. Thanks to Marcus, I am beholden to no one, I am independent of body, mind, and soul, and I follow my own path through this life. I grease the Wheel that it might turn freely. That is what Marcus made me... but I quickly came to understand just how woefully under-prepared for the world he had left me when he was killed, murdered.

May he, when next his soul becomes ascendant on the Great Wheel, take the form of a three-legged dog with fleas.

Marcus was the only family I had ever had. And let me assure you, I grew up in a blessedly twisted family. If I may illustrate: some time ago, I killed Marcus Carlson... sliced his jugular vein, pulmonary artery, and trachea, on the way to severing his spine at the Medulla to stop his autonomic functions in a neat, little, three-step move I’d been working on for years.

…a thing of beauty, that move.

See, I’m an assassin, one of the better assassins in the world. I have been for a while now. And it was Marcus who had been training me for the trade since forever.

~~~~~

Keeper's Cottage

Nikki has safe houses all over the world, run by shadow organizations set up by her father. None of them are home to her. The Keeper's Cottage, in a small, rural town in southwest England, is as close as anything else to her permanent base of operations. It sits in a copse of trees, back away from the rest of the town amongst overgrowth and underbrush, going unnoticed by most of the town's residents. The quaint British cottage sits on top of Nikki's biggest secret... somewhere on the property is the entrance to a cave that is her Sanctum.

~~~~~

Awakened Honor Knife

Arete: 6
Quintessence: 30 Max

Knife's Spirit
Willpower: 9
Rage: 9
Gnosis: 6
Power: 60

Charms -

As part of Nikki's latest Seeking, she came to finally understand and appreciate the reweaving of Fate that Marcus and Vivianne had accomplished when they chose to steal her at her birth. In exploring the knowledge of What-Should-Have-Been, the young assassin Awakened the Spirit of this ancient Verbena Talisman, rousing its spirit and unlocking its magickal potential.

Effects:

1) Ever-Sharp/Unbreakable Blade

Spheres:
Matter 3

Difficulty: 6
Duration: Instantaneous/Constant
Range: N/A
Damage: N/A

Effect: Keeps the edge of the blade as sharp as modern surgical obsidian (about 30 Angstroms thick) and harder than diamond.

2) Spirit Bane

Spheres:
Prime 2

Difficulty: 5
Duration: as per table
Range: Special
Damage: as per Weapon

Effect: This is the Prime 2 Effect Enchant Weapon. It allows the knife to affect spirits and other Ephemeral things for a scene.

3) Technological Terror's Terror

Spheres:
Entropy 3
Forces 2
Prime 2

Difficulty: 6
Duration: as per table
Range: Special
Damage: N/A

Effect: A variation on Slay Machine that adds electrical and/or fire damage as appropriate. With Prime 2, the Forces Effect propagates through the machine/device.

4) Answer the Call

Spheres:
Correspondence 3
Matter 2

Difficulty: 6
Duration: Instantaneous
Range: Special
Damage: N/A

Effect: The Knife can teleport itself from anywhere into its owner's possession.

~~~~~

Mirror of Tamaraponme

Arete: 5
Quintessence: 25 max

Tamaraponme is the muse of dress. She has dominion over fashion & style of every sort. This Talisman is a massive, flawless, full-length mirror in an antique cherry wood frame elegantly carved with various images of needle and thread, stitching cloth, and women's hands sewing.

Effects:

1) The Cinderella Effect:

Spheres:
Mind 3
Matter 4
Prime 2
Correspondence 2
Time 2

Difficulty: 7
Duration: Until Midnight (1 Success) or Permanent (2+ Successes)
Range: General Area (about 15')
Damage: N/A

Effect: The Mage stares into the Mirror and imagines being dressed in any sort of clothing. The Mirror will read the Mage's mind (Mind 3), sense backward or forward in time (Correspondence 2/Time 2), to dress the Mage in accurate, period clothing (Matter 4/Prime 2). Any sort of fashion/accessory/jewelry may be created in this manner. If the Mage has at least Mind 1, the Mage can make the mental effort and have the Mirror create the clothing in the Mage's hands instead of dressing the Mage.

2) Laundry Day:

Spheres:
Prime 4

Difficulty: 7
Duration: Instant and Ongoing
Range: General Area (about 15')
Damage: N/A

Effect: The Mirror draws Quintessence from matter around it and uses it to recharge its own Quintessence pool. And while the Mirror may affect any Pattern within its range, it will unweave cloth and clothing before it affects other materials, so mages are advised to keep bolts of cloth near the Mirror.

~~~~~

Carte Blanche

Arete: 5
Quintessence: 25 max

A small white credit-card blank with a magnetic strip on the back. When inserted into any cash machine, pay point, electronic lock or such, it will act as a skeleton key, prompt the machine to greet John or Jane Doe, give him or her whatever cash is available, up to the regular transaction limit or whatever access is usually permissible, and then erase the operation from the machine's logs.

When given to a living being, Carte Blanche will appear as a driver's license, library card or whatever form of identification the recipient expects, showing the name of whoever the mage says he or she is. Carte Blanche itself has an Arcane of 5 for the purpose of people remembering the name on it, though it will not protect the mage's face.

Spending one point of Quintessence will allow the card to function for a scene.

~~~~~

Sniper Rifle

Arete: 6
Quintessence: 30 max

It should be noted that it is possible by the rules to shoot at more than one target per use of this talisman if the range is short. Simply declare that you are trying to hit everyone (3 successes needed) or only selected targets in the vicinity (4 successes needed).

The talisman can either sound like a rifle or be quiet. It is perfectly reasonable to have a silenced sniper rifle.

All of the powers of this talisman are coincidental . It's a gun.

Effects:

1) Folding/Unfolding:

Spheres:
Matter 3

Difficulty: 6
Duration: as per table
Range: N/A
Damage: N/A

Effect: This Matter effect allows the weapon to be folded and unfolded so that it may be stored/transported without looking like a weapon.

2) Scope:

Spheres:
Correspondence 1
Forces         1

Difficulty: 4
Duration: as per table
Range: Special
Damage: N/A

Effect: The scope allows line of sight to be drawn at great distances. The Forces 1 effect allows the scope to function in any part of the EM spectrum, so, using X-rays or IR, it is possible to see into buildings, through walls etc.

3) Incendiary Round:

Spheres:
Entropy 1
Matter 3
Forces 3
Prime   2

Difficulty: 6
Duration: Instantaneous + Fire
Range: Line of Sight (see Scope)
Damage: 5 x Successes (+ Fire)

Effect: The Undead can be pesky critters unless one deals with them in a convincing manner. That's why this incendiary round was developed. The Entropy effect gives targeting information to the eyepiece of the scope about the weakest part of the vampire (ala Dim Mak). When fired, the round rips into the target and shreds its pattern (Matter 3). At the same time, the target bursts into flames (Forces 3, Prime 2) and burns (Technically, the fire will get its duration from the duration effects table in the rule book, but let common sense prevail, please). This round was originally designed for use against Vampires, but it was later found to be very effect when used against doors, people's clothes (especially body armor), and vehicular gas tanks (ouch).   This round is also an arsonist's/pyromaniac's dream. It leaves no physical evidence although Resonance may provide magickal investigators with leads.

Imagine a terrorist shooting from a hilltop, miles away, at an oil refinery's storage tanks...

4) Anti-Personnel Round:

Spheres:
Entropy 1
Life    3
Matter 3
Prime 2

Difficulty: 6
Duration: Instantaneous
Range: Line of Sight (see Scope)
Damage: 5 x Successes

Effect: Imagine getting hit in the head with a wad of bubble gum traveling at Mach 3.5. That's what this round does to a target. It is equally effective against living and nonliving targets. This round is also used on nonliving targets when the use of the incendiary round is impractical. As with the incendiary round, the Entropy effect gives targeting data to the mage through the scope.

5) Silver Bullet:

Spheres:
Entropy 1
Matter 2
Forces 3
Prime   2

Difficulty: 6 (also requires a separate Firearms 'To Hit' roll)
Duration: Instantaneous
Range: Line of Sight (see Scope)
Damage: 5 x Successes (Aggravated vs. Werewolves)

Effect: While werewolves are able to very effectively resist the Anti-Personnel Round, they have a much nastier time with this little gem.   The Matter effect creates a silver bullet and it is propelled toward the target by the Forces/Prime effect. The Firearms skill roll will determine if the silver bullet hits its mark. Again, the Entropy effect finds the target's weaker regions.

6) Enchanted Weapon:

Spheres:
Prime   2

Difficulty: N/A (Requires a separate Firearms 'To Hit' roll)
Duration: Instantaneous
Range: Line of Sight (see Scope)
Damage: As Effect

Effect: The gun has been imbued with Prime, making it effective against Ephemeral targets, including all manner of Umbrood.

~~~~~

Nikki

Appearance

Attributes

History