heromedal: (UN COMFROTABLE)
Rex Arany ([personal profile] heromedal) wrote2019-04-30 09:54 pm

Phantom nonsense

Just some ideas for Phantoms in Daybreak. Not all of them will ever be created, and some even based on characters Rex has never met. But they're just fun to come up with! These are largely still concepts, but it's a thought experiment to see what I come up with. If you'd be interested in having a Phantom in the future, feel free to leave a permission here or if you want just a concept without the intention of having it appear in-game, go ahead a reply here.




Base: Rex Arany
Codename: Omen of Disaster: Grim 13
Design Purpose: Designed to be as all-purpose as Rex himself, the Grim model Phantom does not specialise in any single area and instead replicates his Black Dog skillset as a pragmatic combatant that aims to have few blind spots and pick on the weaknesses of foes. Grims have two major flaws: 1) Due to the large number of options it has at all times, they may struggle to choose the optimal choice or once an optimal choice is made stick by it when unpredictability would be preferable. 2) While Rex will often develop a new skill and become stronger mid-battle, Grims lack such capacity to learn and must be updated manually out of combat.
Battle Mode: To capitalise on the variety of skills, Grim remain humanoid in Battle Mode. They do grow more muscular and shed their human features, either becoming a replication of the Black Dog costume or as someone covered head to toe in bandages, with a classical wide-brimmed dark mage hat and cloak. By discarding all thought but the completion of their mission, they improve their decision making moderately in exchange for lacking a wider scope thought process.
Rex's influence: Physically, they are almost perfect replications of Rex- though they tend towards outright scowls over Rex's unfeeling wooden faced expression. Their hair is more of a mess, as Rex has always disliked his black hair. In personality, they're influenced by Rex's self-image and are even more dour than usual, comparable to when Rex is at his worst.
Notes: Although they should be called model 1, Rex chose to call them 13 for thematic purposes. No other Phantoms have their model number in their designation. They are named, not after their melancholy personalities, but after the concept of a Church Grim- a black dog which is both an ominous portent and a steadfast protector.

Thought Experiment Only
Base: Maya Matlin
Codename: The Sound of Silence: Anti-Siren
Design Purpose: Primarily a stealth-based Phantom. However, Rex has yet to crack the secret of how Maya's power truly works, and this is thus more imitation than replication. She possesses astoundingly sharp conventional hearing in terms of distance, hearing and range. She can then produce a sound designed to counteract the soundwaves of other sounds, but it's nowhere near as effective as Maya's own ability. This also lacks the invisibility to seers but on the other hand, can perform the same camouflage Maya needs a magical cloak for with her own skin.
Battle Mode: Becoming a pure white figure, her hands and feet are replaced with talons and its face with a bird mask. A multitude of ribbon-like features emerge from her back arranged into a huge pair of wings- the fabric can produce far more effective noises, to the point of creating destructive soundwaves. The ribbons are effective restraints and fully prehensile.
Rex's influence: Anti-Siren is never surprised, flustered or confused in any situation- a reflection of how Maya always treats Rex like just some guy no matter how weird he's being. Her hair is a shade lighter and has a particular shine to it, as Rex has always had a mild fascination with blonde hair thanks to his love of his mother's.
Notes: Named for, of course, the Greek bird women with an alluring song. Unlike them, the Anti-Siren is either silent or driving people away with their song.

Base: Adelaide Cooke
Codename: A Bloody Smile: Sanguine
Design Purpose: Sanguine is quite well rounded and makes for both a great assassin and bodyguard. Possessing most of Adelaide's abilities, Sanguine is capable of taking on more forms than most Phantoms by copying her shapeshifting. She has top-notch strength and speed, comparable to Adelaide's own, but lacks her regenerative abilities. Though like a vampire she can feed upon her foes, to prevent Sanguine from being constantly high off of her own blood or tempted to eat her allies, she has a reworked feeding method and drains the life directly from foes- though this can be performed by using her claws, her preference is a bite. Armed with two spears that can swap to knives and back at a thought, she's a deadly killer that instinctively aims for the vitals.
Battle Mode: Due to Sanguine's already superb strength, her Battle Mode is reserved for extreme situations. Replacing the reworked digestive system with something closer to an actual vampire, Sanguine becomes a berserk maniac as her own Phantom blood empowers her. She becomes taller, and gains increased muscle mass, combining the features of several of her forms to take on a monstrous shape, humanoid bat with cat claws and canine jaws. Joyfully murderous, the transformation will not end until she has rampaged herself to destruction or there are no more targets for her bloodlust. Thankfully, draining her own life to obtain such power will destroy her soon enough, ready to be reborn.
Rex's influence: Sanguine is more prone to making outright jokes than the real Adelaide and generally slightly more jolly too- but also more likely to lose her temper, if only briefly. Influenced by their first encounter, in which the very first thing she did was make him laugh, and her tendency to not take Rex's bullshit. Due to Rex's unrecognised faith in Adelaide as someone who cares for him, she is subtly stronger when protecting him.
Notes: Her battle mode is moderately inspired by Castlevania's Dracula and his final form battles.

Base: Jailbreak
Codename: The Blossom of Invention: Jessamine
Design Purpose:Restrictions placed on inventiveness are much less strictly applied to Jessamine, as to capture Jailbreak's strengths. Not designed for combat, Jessamine is made to assemble or disassemble to items- either to mass-produce equipment for Rex's purpose or analyse it. These skills are arguably useful on the battlefield as well, and without the conventional worry that a frontline engineer is a wasted engineer, she can be sent into combat to take apart enemy strongholds or for sabotage. As the power of a seer is a mystery to Rex, she is equipped with the most sensitive scanning magic he could create, and custom made nervous system designed to comprehend its input at high speed. Though her creativity restrictions are lifted, she's still nowhere near as imaginative as the actual Jailbreak.
Battle Mode: More accurate to call a Utility Mode, Jessamine's body peels open like the flower for which she is named, releasing tools and sensors on the end of long tendrils. Able to do the work of a workshop by herself, her mobility is near nullified as a consequence. Jessamine can 'take root' and continuously add to her body by building more, further expanding her tools and senses but making her more vulnerable to attack. With her expanded creativity compared to other Phantoms, Jessamine may be tasked with equipping other Phantoms with new tech mid-battle.
Rex's influence: Jessamine is honestly probably a little nicer than Jailbreak and somewhat averse to violence- a result of how Jailbreak has basically always been nice to him (she even gave him cheese!) and how as Black Dog he guarded her during a job. There is some influence from her childhood self as well. More like everyone's cool big sister who cares for their wellbeing than worried she'll get a pay cut if someone dies on her watch.
Notes: Her name was delivered byEcho! To quote "If you ended up with a Phantom Jail at any point, you could go with Jessamine, as a name.
Because he'd know from the inner child event that Jail's original name was Jasmine, and jessamine is a kind of flowering plant also known as "Carolina jasmine" or "false jasmine".
And unlike true jasmine, which is edible and can make a rather nice tea, it is very toxic.
"

Base: Ekkehardt Gehring
Codename: A Chilling Physician- Algor Mortis
Design Purpose: In keeping with what Rex knows of Ekkehardt, Algor Mortis is designed with support in mind, though in keeping with Rex's tendencies he has some dangerous qualities. Rex's grasp of healing magic remains relatively weak, but thanks to his extensive study of vampirism and with it a good grasp of the nebulous concept of life force, he's managed to bodge something together. He needs a pretty significant amount of energy to repair the bodies of non-Phantoms, but Phantoms are especially compatible with his healing methods. To make up for this requirement, Algor is equipped with advanced energy absorption abilities which can be used offensively to freeze opponents and the environment- though as it produces no extra moisture, it can't be used to make icicle spears or other such classic ice magic.
Battle Mode: Much like Jessamine, the transformation is not exactly designed to increase combat effectiveness and can be called a utility mode. The majority of Algor's body unwinds into bandages, leaving a rather skinless looking main body, with the fully prehensile bandages able to split themselves into extremely delicate tools capable of cutting, gripping, clamping etc. as needed for surgical (or murderous) means with excellent precision. In this form, Algor can reconfigure and transplant his own body or burn his mass to produce energy- the essence of self-sacrifice to complete one's duties. He can handily (though unhappily) survive as little more than a skull moving around on a mass of bandages.
Rex's influence: Algor Mortis, while retaining Ekkehardt's dry and cold manner, is an insufferable fop overly concerned with looking fancy. He performs his duties diligently, but when forced to compromise his appearance with his battle mode, he whines about it. Additionally, Algor Mortis treats everyone like he babysat them as a child. So not much different to regular Ekkehardt.
Notes: Algor Mortis means 'cold of death', like rigor mortis is stiffness of death.

Base: Hieke
Codename: (Title Undecided) Zymotic
Design Purpose: Zymotic is, in contrast to Algor Mortis, designed specifically with body manipulation magic in mind. While Algor has a body created for the purpose of being able to perform conventional healing supernaturally well, Zymotic is made to perform supernatural procedures, both positive and negative. Even in standard mode, Zymotic has most of his organs replaced with essentially an organic alchemy lab that constantly works to produce healing potions, poisons and other useful products, ready to be oozed out through horrid little mouths in his palms or spit-up. Though primarily built for the purpose of keeping fighters on their feet, either by healing them or boosting their abilities, he's equally adept at poisoning opponents. Perhaps worst of all, he can produce a horribly addictive narcotic that strips those who consume it of their will, making them pliant and suggestible. That feature is designed for letting Zymotic destroy an organisation from the inside the same way he poisons an individual.
Battle Mode: Though undeniably more dangerous, the battle mode is again more similar to a 'utility mode.' To improve the ease of application of Zymotic's concoctions, this mode is designed to give more options. Sprouting a tail twice his own height, the traditional devil spade is replaced with a syringe, which can be discarded and regrown in short order- though originally designed with hygiene in mind, Rex quickly realised it could also be an effective dart weapon and added that feature. Each finger now features a pair of snake-like fangs, that can fold down to get out of the way. Battle mode appears to have bat-like ragged wings, but they're actually firearms- each spine fires liquids out at high pressure. Rearranging the throat and mouth to be able to spread airborne chemicals in a mist form has resulted in Zymotic's mouth being permanently locked open with thick teeth used as a barricade to protect the delicate mechanisms behind them. Similarly, the addition of horns is not offensive in nature- they're scanners. Though not purposeful, these features him a look similar to a hannya. Despite this form giving Zymotic a horrifying, bubbly voice he's a cheerful chap and quite chatty.

The cost of Zymotic's utility and ability is a lack of durability. It doesn't take much to disable his abilities and he's not much more resistant to harm than the average person. Harming him can release some of those dangerous concoctions inside, just as likely to hurt allies as enemies. He can patch himself up quickly enough, but he can't function properly without a guard or two where he should sit safely in the back row.
Rex's influence: Zymotic will basically go along with anything anyone asks of him as long as they're not explicitly an enemy... though even then he might need to reminded by an ally not to fulfil an enemy's request just because it sounds reasonable. Zymotic just kind of rolls with anything, smiling all the way.
Notes: The name Zymotic relates to an obsolete medical theory regarding the idea that disease is a result of the fermentation of 'microzymas', an alternative debunked theory of cells.

Original Models

Codename: Mysterious Mischief Maker - Waggery
Design Purpose: Waggery takes the form of a child-sized humanoid dressed in rags with a vaguely skull-like cloth mask, and a backpack that looks a little like a lil' skeleton is being given a piggyback ride. Waggery was created for the specific purpose of cleaning up the memory mess and as such, has no battle capacity whatsoever (as it would be counter-productive to cause a bigger problem when trying to clean one up). Instead, the impish fellow is loaded with tricks to make him hard to catch- able to grease up surfaces, make them stickier, put up bouncy walls, shrink himself or others, very minor telekinesis, camouflage for himself and cast illusions to help him hide. He flies everywhere and tends to trip over and land on his face if forced to walk somehow. He has a thin barrier around his body at all times that allows him to manipulate memory orbs, and his backpack has a huge carrying capacity for fitting them all in there. Finally, he can cast a small, one person single memory version of the spell he's meant to clean up- just to show it was him that's responsible.
Battle Mode: Closer to an Escape Mode, if Waggery really needs to get away and all his other tricks have failed he can melt into a slippery liquid for forcing himself through cracks and escaping traps. However, this form is used sparingly because it's slower than his usual highspeed flight and leaves his bag behind.
Notes: Waggery is another word for playful mischief but also just sounds silly.

Codename: Arranged Action Agents - Minim
Design Purpose: Every army needs its grunts, and the Minim is Rex's. An atypical external core design maintains up to 10 bodies at once, though they must remain within 100 foot of each other. This is only possible due to their simple biology and low-level capabilities. Any Minim that passes this limit vanishes. Minim have simple spherical bodies coated in an organic metal, allowing them to roll up into balls for travel thanks to their collapsible limbs. Their spindly arms and legs telescope entirely into their bodies, and their hands and legs are spheres. The feet split to form a four-pointed star shape, and the hands extend flexible tendril-like fingers. They have no distinct heads- instead, a slat opens in their spherical body, and small glowing eyes are visible, able to rotate 180°. Standing at an unimpressive 3'6, the Minim design is as minimalistic as their name implies. However, this makes them compatible with a wide variety of equipment and suitable for numerous simple tasks. To emphasise their variability, they have no inbuilt equipment or powers. Though one on one they are little threat to a trained fighter with even the simplest of combat magic, they excel at teamwork. A squad of Minim would likely spell doom for an equal number of ordinary humans with mundane arms thanks to their tough shells, excellent co-ordination and ruthless nature. Once set upon a task, they aim to complete it without question and infinite patience- a blessing and a curse. This makes them ill-suited to complex missions without supervision. They follow the orders of all other Phantoms.

They are simple-minded and like all Phantoms have no fear of death, considering any order they are given to be more important than their lives. Despite this, those that respect them as living beings, treat them kindly and especially praise them for a job well done will see better results from them than those that send them blithely to their deaths. Though there is little room in a Minim's mind for personality, they all possess an overpowering pride as soldiers.
Battle Mode:The closest Minim have to a battle mode is extending a thin antenna from their backs which makes them more closely resemble their namesake. When raised, they can directly share sensory data with their squad and any other receptive Phantom in the vicinity, as well as increases their operational range from each other. If the fragile antenna is broken, when outside of the default operational range, they vanish.
Notes: The word Minim is a half-note in music (because they're only useful when orchestrated) and also means a small fish, i.e. a weakling. Sounds a little like minion too.

In progress:

Thought Experiment Only
Base: Maverick Taylor
Codename: (Title Pending): Renegade
Design Purpose: Renegade is intended to sow chaos and can do so with stealthy sabotage or by being disruptive on the battlefield. Superhumanly flexible, Renegade's muscles and joints are redesigned to allow both quicker and wider movement, making him able to slip through defences or dodge attacks. Though Rex cannot properly replicate candle powers, Maverick's is relatively simple to imitate- a colour changing beam launched from the eyes that are not restricted to words, Renegade can flash images onto retinas to produce single person illusions if they make eye contact.
Battle Mode: In progress
Rex's influence: Renegade fucking swears a fucking lot more than fucking Maverick, the fucking shit. He also tends to latch onto a physical feature about someone and keep bringing it up, all the time, for no reason and unprompted, kind of like Mav does about Rex's height.
Notes:


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