| ESPERS: Living Materia |
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Espers are the rare victims of the plague who manage to survive its devastating ravages of their body and minds. In the course of survival, their bodies have assimilated the plague virus and in so doing, have taken the very essence of the tainted materia into themselves. Simpler put, Espers are the result of a forced, violent merger of human and materia brought about by the catalyst of a mind and body driven to desperation. Most Espers, therefore, are not entirely stable, if not outright insane, and among their numbers few come through their ordeal with the whole of their memories in tact. With the rare exception, Espers are physically indistinguishable from any other human. However, unlike their fellow Man, Espers can no longer truly be described as �human� by any sense of the world. The effects of awakening varies Esper to Esper; in some humans it leaves them their bodies incapable of functioning without medical assistance while in others the awakening produces near superhuman strength or any point in between the two extremes. Esper Gifts Just as the physical effects of awakening run a broad spectrum, so to do the range of Esper gifts. Obviously materia-based influences, such as the ability to conjure elemental forces, healing powers, the ability to inflict status conditions or shield allies with barriers of energy, can exist within an Esper, but so too can psionic gifts such as telepathy, telekinesis, aportation, astral projection, teleportation etc. Multiple manifestations of materia-influenced and psionic Esper talents should be cleared with a moderator. �Feral� Espers Espers who awaken beyond the carefully monitored lab settings of Sierra�s compound where other Espers possessing psionic gifts capable of assisting the fledgling Esper are able to help them learn to control their powers, are a danger to anyone around them. Their distressed mental, physical and emotional state makes it highly likely that they will not have a firm control, or any idea how to wield, their new powers. In some cases, the very act of awakening will cause the subject, who had escaped the madness caused by the plague, to fall victim to insanity. People wishing to play a feral Esper will need to discuss the particulars of their Esper (location, gift, effects of awakening, and behavior) with a mod. "Tame" Espers Espers who awaken within Sierra�s compound will have rigorous training, expert mental care and fellow Espers to help them adjust and learn about their newfound powers. However, their every waking moment will be filled with some sort of conditioning. No Esper who awakens within the care of Sierra�s forces will be anything but devoted to Sierra and his goals. The most powerful, stable and controllable of these Espers are ushered into Sierra�s elite force and are often sent searching for signs of Ferals or potential Espers within a plague exposed populous. Esper and Materia Espers with materia are like gasoline being thrown onto a forest fire: not a good idea. Any materia used by an Esper will become tainted. Furthermore, use of materia (tainted or pure) by an Esper will have severe side effects for him/her that are only compounded with repeated usage. These side effects range from the return of plague symptoms (deliberating pain, high fever, loss of muscle control, partial paralysis, vomiting, hair loss, bleeding from the eyes and ears, legions and bloody discharge in mucus secretions from the lungs), possible further enhancement or deterioration of his/her Esper gifts (i.e. trying to conjure a shield and winding up permanently encased within a barrier or attempting to teleport but only managing to shift half of your body from one location to the next) that would be all but impossible to safely predict, and derangement with further usage leading to insanity. Espers should only use materia as a last resort. This means we do not want to see an Esper carrying around a full compliment of materia and chucking spells left and right without any repercussions. Further, any materia an Esper does carry should be low powered; an Esper stands a much better chance of using a materia and coming out relatively unscathed if it is at a beginning level. No summons should ever be used by an Esper. Any questions on Espers, usage of materia, or acceptable gifts, combinations of powers etc should be directed to a mod. Most requests, as long as there is a reason for them and do not result in a �god� character, will be approved. Just run it by us first. Questions regarding the �tame� Espers or the Saints should be directed to Wolf (Sierra) in the ooc journal or through Aim sn: Tendoh Jigoku |