Author Topic: Dustsmith  (Read 3341 times)

Kingnoname1

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Dustsmith
« on: August 14, 2018, 09:52:41 AM »
CHARACTER

Name: Unknown. Title: The Dustsmith

Age: Unknown

Species and Gender: Unknown

Symbol:  A large hammer striking an even larger crystal formation of dust, crudely drawn like like it was etched into stone by a hammer and chisel.

Occupation: ‘Dustsmith’ or Craftsman extoridinare, Mercenary.

Appearance: A mountainous form, getting close to nine feet tall encased in a golden set of armour of the finest make blocks any attempt to view the Dustsmith’s true form. Mostly animated by their semblance and ‘mundane’ robotics the Dustsmith’s armoured form shines a brilliant gold caped with rich reds and purples it exudes unmatched royalty and power. That is, of course, the point but what is designed into the armour is even more striking than the colour palette, animal motifs, hundreds of them. Some large, the front half of a wolf and lion make up the shoulder plates as well as an open dragon maw dominate the chest plate. However, for every massive design, there are dozens only noticeable under close inspection. Including flocks of tiny birds under the Dustsmith’s cloak and thin snakes which flow down the arms.

Never seen outside their armour details about body posture or what not are completely unknown but the Dustsmith regularly stands so still that others think them a statue, a mistake the Dustsmith encourages crafting golems which look identical to him. The only physical characteristic the Dustsmith shares publicly are their voice, a strangely androgynous and soft timbre which when combined with the Dustsmith’s tendency of referring to themselves in the third person means even making conclusions about their gender almost impossible. Despite the heavy armour the Dustsmith coats themselves in it never seems to hamper their manoeuvrability resulting in far more limber movements than one would expect from a fully armoured knight. This continues all the way to manual dexterity, meaning that the Dustsmith is capable of intricate movements like origami even with armoured gauntlets.

History: The stories surrounding the Dustsmith are some of the oldest in Mistral if not all of Remnant. For as long as humans and Faunus wandered Anima a figure calling themselves the Dustsmith followed, offering their crafts against the encroaching Grimm or other tribes. As the name suggests, Dustsmith, these works often took the form of dust powered machinery and weapons. Incredibly primitive by today's standard but at the time they were the bleeding edge of weapons technology providing massive advantages to those with the Dustsmith’s favour. And the Dustsmith was clear on how to gain their favour, trade. Offers for the Dustsmith’s latest creations kept increasing resulting in them become one of the richest individuals on the continent. With that money, the Dustsmith trained apprentices as well as bought dust and metals in even higher quantities than before. But money like any form of success draws jealousy and as the Dustsmith never seemed to care what their weapons were used for many, quite rightfully, started to see them as a disruptive force. And so one night the original Dustsmith was killed in their sleep along with most of their apprentices and all their projects were destroyed.

Although the rich grieved at the loss of such powerful weapons the common man rejoiced to hope that the Dustsmith’s death would result in a new era of peace. And they were right in a way only helped by the Dustsmith returning. Clad in heavy robes and a mask of incredible likeness to the original Dustsmith this new craftsman took up their master’s work, name and ruined workshop. This new Dustsmith had learned an important lesson from their fallen master, a responsibility of a sort and they began caring more about what their weapons were used for. And so the new Dustsmith vanished as quickly as they appeared, appearing occasionally at major markets or the courts of local warlords to offer their wares only to those would unify the land rather than divide it. Staying on the move meant protection from their fellow humans even if it exposed them more to the Grimm it also made it harder to train apprentices. As such it came to pass that only one could be comfortably fed and taught the thousands of lessons it took to become a Dustsmith in such conditions.

Such the title passed down from master to apprentice, from Dustsmith to Dustsmith unbroken until the modern day. Many Mistrali believe the core code resulting in Atlas’s battle droid technology came from the Dustsmith as well as transforming weapons and dozens of dust variations over the centuries. Those centuries have done a lot to whitewash the Dustsmith’s actions, Mistral, particularly leading up to the greyed war hero-worshipped the Dustsmith. Seeing them as the perfect pure craftsman, making beautiful and terrible works simply for the act of creation. An aspiration that the art-focused nation rallied behind and remains a majority position to this day.

Keeping secrets are much harder in modern times than before the formation of kingdoms and all major factions have a vested interest in keeping an eye on such enigmatic figures like the Dustsmiths. Around ten years ago the Dustsmith took the physical form they keep to this day, leading analysts to assume that this is when the apprentice took over from their master. A reasonable assumption considering at the same time the Dustsmith’s dealing took a more abstract outlook. The preceding Dustsmith had been as predictable as their kind got, limiting their sales to huntsmen and huntresses as well as the occasional Atlas Specialist or military officer. There was even talk about making the Dustsmith an official position within Mistral, returning to a state not unlike the original although hopefully less disruptive. Specifics of what caused negotiations to break down are unclear but it seems the current Dustsmith is nothing like their master.

Although many huntsman and huntresses are still sold weapons by the Dustsmith so are mercenaries and more worryingly bandits and even the White Fang are ending up having far too many of such weapons for it to only be looting. The figures legendary status means Mistral is incapable of massively shifting their public position on the Dustsmith without a loss of face, although the other kingdoms aren’t so trapped and independent hunters are constantly looking for clues. To buy from or to arrest depending on the individual. Although it is definitely a change compared to the previous Dustsmith there has been disruptive Dustsmith’s before but what has made this new figure so difficult to deal with is the deals they are making. No longer satisfied with lien or raw materials the Dustsmith has begun demanding rarer and rarer materials, often involving illegal actions. Adding further uneasy whenever a new Dustsmith weapon appears in the hands of an apparent upstanding member of society, it speaks to there quality that it hasn’t seemed to reduced demand much. Perfectly legal weaponsmiths capable of creating technological marvels are rare and expensive but those aren’t impossible obstacles for Huntsman and huntresses to overcome but there is always something more with the Dustsmith’s creations. Centuries of crafting weapons for defenders of humanity, and the occasional criminal, is passed down to every Dustsmith granting them supreme insight to what fighters need almost impossible to garner otherwise. That and their semblance.

Although the new Dustsmith did eventually decline Mistrals offer of a partnership they have been seen in other groups since. Criminal syndicates mostly but even seeing the Dustsmith out in the world has become more common. Dustsmiths of yore spent significant time travelling discreetly, forming relationships with smugglers and buyers out of the public eye. Fame was a dangerous thing, doubly so when what made you famous was the weapons you forged but that doesn't seem to be something the new Dustsmith worries about. Perhaps their size makes it difficult to travel as others once did but more likely it is because this new Dustsmith believes in the myth.
 
Personality: Although it would be incorrect to conflate the hero-worship of huntsman and huntresses to that of the Dustsmith, it is of a similar fervour however it is for very different reasons. The Dustsmith is seen to be Mistral, they were there at the beginning and are credited with so many inventions it is hard to imagine modern life without them. Now imagine training your entire life to be that person. To be specially selected and trained in secret by a literal myth while carrying your life out as normal. A God complex is putting the condition lightly.

The Dustsmith believes creation is what makes us truly alive, it separates us from animals and even more from forces of destruction like Grimm. As such the value of someone is their ability to create, regardless of how terrible that creation is. And the Dustsmith has a wide definition of creation, their own works are widely agreed upon as such but the Dustsmith takes creation beyond physical objects, another person would call it more simply change. Just as the Dustsmith still marvels at how his works change from rough raw materials into some of the finest weapons and armour on the planet they equally watch in enraptured delight at how revolutionaries change people from downtrodden vagrants to warriors. How criminals turn law-abiding citizens into themselves or strong people into broken husks.

As an individual, the Dustsmith is surprisingly warm and open-hearted despite his rapidly deteriorating reputation. Often bringing swarms of origami creatures to life to entertain children or doing repairs in outflung towns. This not only makes it even harder for Mistral to crackdown on the Dustsmith's increasingly criminal dealings, but it also gives him dozens of places to lie low all over Anima when others come looking. Kindness and good fortune change people just as much as strife and pain and it all feeds back into the Dustsmith's god complex. These offers of kindness do not always come without significant cost however and many people have found themselves in jail trying to pay back the golden soul of mistral.

Aura and Semblance: The Dustsmith's aura takes a bright Gold glow when in use or when their weapons are activated making it very obvious what weapons are theirs although he like all Dustsmiths has no maker's mark. The Dustsmith has a truly massive aura capacity however due to how their semblance works the Dustsmith actually has little to draw upon if he would ever come involved in a fight. Mechanically this means the Dustsmith's aura never goes above 50%.

The Dustsmith's semblance is animation. Works wrought by the Dustsmith can be invested with a portion of the Dustsmith's own aura during construction, reducing their maximum until said aura is released, only possible by the object’s destruction, and then the work becomes 'alive'. How long it can stay alive depends on the amount of aura invested and can be replenished when exhausted by the Dustsmith or any other aura user. Said animation can lay dormant in works until set triggers are activated or purposeful activation by the Dustsmith themselves or any person with aura wielding the weapon. This aura invested is noticeable by those with even basic aura training but cannot be exploited by the Dustsmith when the work is coated in another's aura.

The strength and durability of these new creations are all dependant on how well crafted they are, if one would peel back the Dustsmith's armour plating they would find muscle fibres carved in masterful detail and these come alive which give the animal motifs their strength, even thin creatures like snakes can snag an unwary or exhausted foe let alone the damage the maws of wolves, lions and even dragons which are so common in the Dustsmith's work could do. The durability is in direct relation to the materials used in the motifs construction, even through aura and when they would otherwise break they fold back into their host weapon and go inert until recharged. Recharging is an intensive process which must be initiated by the wielder and takes a few hours and leaves whoever did the recharging aura slightly drained however it will return as normal unlike in the original creation.

These motifs also may be empowered by dust in the form of powerful elemental attacks or simply augmenting their not quite natural abilities. Like their aura, this supply will need to be recharged when expended but the Dustsmith has a very fixed view on what their creations should be doing as such can only take the whatever dust they were initially filled with. Adding explosive materials to your weapons and armour has obvious safety issues and the Dustsmith rarely adds in any safeguards like the foam used in some Atlas technology finding it 'icky' to work with instead making his customers aware that if they damage their works, they might not even have to chase them down.

On to the limitations of the animations once activated. They aren’t exactly alive like a true animal but they respond to the desires of those whose aura coats them, if none do then they default to the Dustsmith’s combat protocols centred around keeping their wielder alive but also only fighting lethally in the most desperate of situations. This means that the wielder only needs to think for their weapon’s creatures to activate but that also means they wouldn’t activate if the wielder is stunned or otherwise overwhelmed. Only the animal part present can actually impact the wielder, for example, if a hawks head is added but no wings it can never generate lift, but the animals don’t need to exactly mirror their real-world counterparts, a shark could have three rows of teeth already descended or a lion could have hollow teeth like a viper. 

Combat Behavior:  The Dustsmith is a passable fighter individually, an even match to an average huntsman on a good day the Dustsmith does have a lot of advantages which come into play while fighting. Most obviously is their strength and size, augmented by his semblance boosted armour and weapons make the Dustsmith a brute force hammer with few matches. And unfortunately for their enemies, there is a brain under all that muscle, always planning and calculating all the while trying to engage his opponents or allies in philosophical discussion. As mentioned above the Dustsmith’s dexterity is also not hindered by their armour through his semblance but their weapon is still large making gaps in their defence inevitable. Luckily for their opponents, the Dustsmith fights mostly to subdue, never killing their opponents and will go out of their way to ensure their survival, including crafting new limbs for their assailants seeing death as destruction and as such antithetical to all of the Dustsmith's beliefs. This goes doubly true if the Dustsmith ever has to fight against someone using one of their weapons, almost preferring death to destroy one of their own creations they would make an unbreakable shield once the wielders aura started to drop low.

However, a crippling weakness remains the Dustsmith’s aura level, which means although the Dustsmith is capable of putting out crushing attacks they can not endure the same in return. Ironic perhaps considering their size but it means a hunter, or even a well-coordinated student team, only needs to get a few good hits to bring the Dustsmith down. To offset this weakness the Dustsmith does travel with a series of ‘body doubles,’ great golden golems of exactly the same size and appearance wielding the same great hammer/heavy machine gun that the Dustsmith does. Someone as prone to fancy as the Dustsmith could never be expected to create the exact same suit of armour multiple times so there are minor differences between them but not enough to signify the original but enough to slowly cross out possibilities.

WEAPON

Name: Blades of Heaven

Primary Form: A gorgeous halberd, the head forged from a gold/titanium alloy to combine beauty and strength and the haft is spotless white marble. All together this makes the weapon incredibly heavy but considering the Dustsmith’s equally incredible strength that simply provides more weight to their already bone-crushing blows. The animal motifs incorporated into the design include a shark head making up the butt of the polearm, bear claw making up the hook, a viper’s fang making up the spearhead and a praying mantis’s claw making up the axe blade. 10’ in total length the Blades of Heaven is unwieldy in close confined areas but the sheer destructive power is almost unmatched.

Secondary Form: An impressive but gratuitous transform involves the Blades of Heaven blossoming like a flower form halberd into a heavy battle rifle. The staff shortens but not by much and becomes the barrel resulting in phenomenal accuracy and power behind each shot but drastically reducing the rate of fire. This makes the weapon much more effective against larger Grimm than human/Faunus targets. The animal motifs remain but the shark mouth is being used as the barrel and the bear and mantis claw are greatly shortened to make room for the additional moving parts of a rifle. Only the viper fang remains truly effective, able to snake around the wielder to inject poison or adrenaline depending on the situation.

Dust Functions: The blades and but of the weapon have tiny veins running throughout allowing for the flow of dust to empower their strikes. A plentiful supply and flair for the dramatic results in massive dust creations, ice walls, earth pillars, whirlwinds, thunderstorms, magma flows or all of the above. Although not specifically dust the viper fang can inject a wide array of poisons including slow acting and quick acting non-lethal neurotoxins as well as adrenaline to keep the Dustsmith and their allies in the fight. The battle rifle variant can both fire dust infused rounds as well as spew raw dust creating an impromptu but nevertheless devastating flame/ice/electric/ect thrower

History: For such a beautiful weapon the Blades of Heaven has a very bland history. Crafted by the Dustsmith when they were young the weapon has been and continues to tinker with and it has been with them ever since. Honestly, the Dustsmith would let the weapon pass on to someone else by now but hasn’t met anyone with the desire, ability to wield and ability to pay to take it off them.

ARMOUR

Name: Paragon Plate

Primary Form: The Dustsmith’s golden armour is by far the most well known visual signifier and for good reason, it’s a phenomenal piece of their art in terms of both attack and defence. Heavy metal plating forged from a hybrid mixture of carbon microfibers and titanium alloys leave the suit heavy but surprisingly flexible and impervious to damage to the point the Dustsmith would be more worried about the resulting shockwave rupturing his organs from any blow which could actually dent the armour than the well being of said armour in the first place. A dragon more dominates the chest plate but various hook talons can also fold out to provide light attacks. Shoulders forming a lion and wolf are matched with hundreds if not thousands of tiny insect carvings capable of swarming with such intensity they could bring Grimm to their knees. The wing motifs can not even start to generate enough lift to move the Dustsmith and a purely a flight of fancy. The birds themselves can fly, however, acting as rather conspicuous scouts as well as evidence those searching for the Dustsmith are on the right path.

Dust Functions: Like the Blades of Heaven the Paragon Plate can utilise almost every kind of dust, most through the dragon head which can emerge two meters spraying great gouts of flame or whatever the Dustsmith requires. The insect swarms can also carry a significant amount of dust between all of them providing the closest thing the Dustsmith has to a subtle weapon. The various claws and fangs all have the same tiny veins as the halberd making the crushing embrace of the Dustsmith an almost assured defeat.

History: Like the halberd the Paragon Plate has no real history of its own. Although it should be made clear that the Dustsmith isn’t looking for someone to take this off their hands yet, only a handful in the world could even properly use it and armour isn’t popular among hunters and the like anyway.
« Last Edit: December 03, 2018, 04:19:46 PM by Kingnoname1 »
No criticism is too harsh so hit me with your best shot.

Calen Shrike - ASTC - First Year Beacon.

Saffron de Cortez - SALT - Third Year Atlas.

Amarant Lovis - (formerly of)ACCE - Headmaster of Atlas Academy

Ramalia - RASB - First Year Shade

Vision

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Re: Dustsmith, Mistral based Villian
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2018, 07:15:15 PM »
The only concern I have is the degree to which this character is a well-known story which won't be the case for the players in any thread he features in. "The stories surrounding the Dustsmith are some of the oldest in Mistral if not all of Remnant." "hero-worshipped the Dustsmith". Personally, I would maybe tone that down a bit, some known legends that he inspired. Then again it is a villain and I do think you have earned that trust so a +1 from me.




« Last Edit: December 03, 2018, 06:42:32 PM by Vision »

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Kingnoname1

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Re: Dustsmith
« Reply #2 on: December 03, 2018, 04:35:04 PM »
I don't mind making it a little vaguer, every character will have a choice if they are aware of the Dustsmith legend so I'll try to make sure that comes across.

"The stories surrounding the Dustsmith are some of the oldest in Mistral if not all of Remnant." has become 'For those in the know stories surrounding the Dustsmith are some of the oldest in Mistral if not all of Remnant.'

"hero-worshipped the Dustsmith" has become 'Although it would be incorrect to conflate the aspiration most have to become huntsmen and huntresses to that of the far fewer who want to become the Dustsmith, it is of a similar fervour'

No criticism is too harsh so hit me with your best shot.

Calen Shrike - ASTC - First Year Beacon.

Saffron de Cortez - SALT - Third Year Atlas.

Amarant Lovis - (formerly of)ACCE - Headmaster of Atlas Academy

Ramalia - RASB - First Year Shade

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Re: Dustsmith
« Reply #3 on: December 15, 2018, 05:33:31 AM »
Approved
Students
Wisteria Lockheart - 1st Year student at Beacon. "Don't make me throw a book at you"
Shiroe Pendragon - 1st Year Student at beacon - "This is my monochrome reality" - Team MARS
Lavender du Lac - 1st Year Student at Haven -  "The harder I try the further things drift away."
Ayaka Miyamoto - 1st Year student at Beacon. "Tsubame Gaeshi!" - Team ALIA
Vermilion Desdemona - 3rd Year Student at Beacon - "Only time you'd be above me is when your head rests on my pike"
Talen de L'eglantine - 3rd Year Student at Beacon
Kei Almas - 4th Year Student at Beacon - "Everything is ripe for the taking!"
Aurum LeBlanc - 3rd Year Student at Atlas - "Lay back, take it easy, and watch the comedy unfold"

Professors
Professor William Nox - "To contain the world in a grain of dust