Author Topic: Lucas Meridiem  (Read 7739 times)

ReaperJoe

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Lucas Meridiem
« on: February 10, 2019, 04:52:45 PM »
CCE9AE

CHARACTER

Name: Lucas Meridiem

Age: 19, Born 1st of Machlud

Species and Gender: Human Male

Symbol:  A lantern.  An infinity symbol is painted where the flame would normally be

Occupation: 1st Year Beacon Student

Appearance: Lucas stands at 5’8”, has tan skin, and is lean in build, making him appear smaller than he actually is.  He has sharp, angular facial features and dark, black hair that he keeps short and combed flat.  The gaze of his pale, green eyes is equally pointed, and his expression seems to be set into a permanent frown.

His combat attire consists of a pale green, hooded overcoat that stretches down to his mid-thigh.  The pockets of the coat are outlined in a yellow trim, and the top left pocket displays his symbol.  His pants are a dark forest green that stretch down and cover the top part of his black boots.  He keeps Sophist’s Lantern strapped to a belt that wraps around the waist of the coat, and he wears brown gloves with brass plating on the knuckles (which are useful in the event that he ever has to throw hands).  Underneath his coat he wears a black turtleneck.  He also wears a green bandana around his collar, as well. 

History: Lucas was born in Mistral to two loving parents.  His father, Lucien, was a huntsman, and his mother, Serena, owned and operated a dust shop.  A few years later, his sister, Clara, was born, and, for a time, the family lived happily.

However, as is often the case for a huntsman’s family, tragedy struck a few years later.  When Lucas was six, he answered a knock at the door, where he was greeted by a somber face.  A friend and comrade of his father had come to tell the family terrible news: Lucien had been killed in action.

Lucien had apparently died saving a family of strangers in the midst of a Grimm attack.  The family’s child had been trapped under debris, and Lucas’s father had gone to assist him.  However, after the child had escaped, an Ursa caught Lucien off-guard, creating an opening for other Grimm to attack, which created another opening, which led to another opening, and so on and so forth.  Fortunately, the family whose child he had rescued had managed to escape, and Lucien Meridiem would be remembered as a hero.

Remembered, not welcomed

It was never said, but, in his head, Lucas made that distinction.  There was a funeral service remembering his father.  There was a plaque in the shop’s front entranced labelled “In Remembrance of Lucien”.  Lucas remembered his father, but he could never again welcome him home again.  People would come up to him on the street and tell him that his father died doing the right thing.

But each and every time, Lucas would wonder, ”If he was doing the right thing, why did he have to die?”

It was thoughts like these that guided most of his childhood.  As he grew up, he heard other stories of “valiant” heroes who died in conflict.  Even in fiction, the self-sacrificing “heroes” would always be painted in the most positive light, and that bothered the young boy to no end.  He never related to them, first of all.  He always felt more of a connection with the characters that told the “hero” he was a blind idiot, and that there had to be another way.  Lucas always noted that those characters never seemed to die.

Strangely, though, Lucas seemed to be in the minority.  Other kids he grew up with, even his own sister, seemed to be more enamored with the reckless idiots of the world than the sensible ones.  And every time his friends or his family would express their admiration for “self-sacrifice”, Lucas’s thoughts would return to the night he heard a knock at the door.

He didn’t want to go through that again with his friends.

However, simply arguing with them with (what he thinks is) logic and reason wasn’t going to be enough to dissuade them from chasing their dreams.  Nothing would, really.  So, Lucas decided to do the next best thing and enroll at combat school.  If his friends were going to be dumb enough to risk their lives for the sake of strangers, then he’d make it his goal to make sure his friends came back alive to the people they actually know.

Surprisingly, Lucas thrived in the formal training environment.  There was no doubt that he was obviously a smart student, even when growing up, but his lackadaisical attitude and disdain for public interactions was always assumed to be his weakness. Yet, despite infuriating certain teachers with his apparent lack of attention, he reliably received high marks, and some noted that he provided remarkable insights on conventional tactics.

When it came time to transfer to Beacon, Lucas passed the written and theoretical exams with flying colors.  His only stumbling block came in the practical portion, where he barely completed his objective just as time expired.  However, examiners noted that his aura had only taken minimal damage.

When asked about his goals at Beacon, Lucas will only comment that he doesn't want to lose a teammate.     

Personality: Lucas is incredibly introverted by nature, preferring his own company and thoughts to the company of others. He can spend hours staring at a blank screen, deep in contemplation about nothing. He tends to avoid large groups of people, sticking with close confidants.

He's also quite lazy, and will often wait till the last possible minute to finish an assignment or take care of important paperwork. This also means that he only takes care of things like laundry when he has nothing to wear save for a pair of swim trunks and a blazer. If he can put it off till later, he absolutely will.

On the other hand, he's remarkably and infuriatingly intelligent to the point that he procrastinates on assignments until the 11th hour and still pass with flying colors. He barely studies, but will still somehow seem on top of everything. Furthermore, despite his apparent disregard for the world around him, he often provides insightful critiques on society, huntsmen and huntresses as an organization, and politics.

This apparent disconnect is a result of Lucas's contemplations. In reality, Lucas cares very deeply about the goings-on of the world around him. He believes society and the kingdoms are organized in order to protect the status quo, huntsmen and huntresses are recruited specifically to die rather than save lives, and the people who foolishly live outside the kingdoms are putting extra strain on already-limited resources.

These opinions result in a very cynical attitude. Lucas does care about his fellow man, and he wants a world without Grimm. However, Lucas also believes that neither he nor any other hunters should have to die for the foolishness of others. He will actively choose to abandon a civilian to death if intervening would put himself at risk. Even other hunters are not exempt from this policy, for if they act in particularly foolish manners, he will simply abandon them to their fate.

Some might consider this attitude cowardly, but Lucas remembers the faces of his mother and sister when he was told of the "heroism" of his father. He did everything the storybook heroes did and more, and if the looks on their faces is the price of heroism, then Lucas must propose a different definition: ”My heroes have to come back alive.” 

Aura and Semblance: Lucas’s Aura manifests in a pale, ghostly green color.  His overall level of aura and control is typical for a student of his level.

His semblance takes the form of a freely-floating ephemeral lantern.  Lucas can move it at will, and it moves at about the same speed as a typical huntsman in a full sprint (relative to Lucas).  It can travel out to a range of about 300 feet.  It doesn’t have a physical body, and any strikes aimed at the lantern pass through it.  Summoning and dismissing the lantern is instantaneous, though he can only summon the lantern to a spot within 5 feet of him.  While the lantern is summoned, Lucas has a general idea of where it is at any given point, though he can't "see" through it and otherwise has no idea what's happening around the lantern if he can't directly see the situation himself. 

The lantern can also switch between a dormant state and giving off light.  In either case, normally, the lantern requires negligible aura consumption, allowing Lucas to shed light indefinitely.  The light’s radius extends out to 15 feet.  This light can be affected by dust use, and, depending on what type of dust is used, the light produces various effects.  However, combining his semblance with dust in this way is more strenuous on Lucas’s aura control, and using his semblance in this manner drains his aura reserves.  The more unique types of dust used at once, the more aura is consumed.  At his current level, Lucas can only continuously feed his semblance one type of dust at a time. He can combine two dust types for a short burst effect which would cost a significant amount of his reserve aura, but he cannot sustain a "double-dust" effect continuously.

Spoiler: ShowHide
This is a list of dust effects Lucas can manifest with his semblance.  If certain combinations are not listed, assume the combination would manifest in a combined form of the individual effects.

Key: (F)Fire, (I)Ice, (E)Earth, (W)Wind, (L)Lightning, (K)Kinetic, (G)Gravity

(F): The area increases in temperature drastically, becoming uncomfortably hot.  Ice quickly melts, fire damage is increased, and fire spreads more easily.

(I): The area decreases in temperature drastically, becoming uncomfortably cold.  Any use of ice dust is granted an increased Area of Effect if activated inside the light’s radius (if an effect only affects a single target, the area increases to a radius of 5 feet).

(E): Small particles of sand gently float down amid the lantern’s AoE.  Structures made with Earth dust within the light’s radius are more durable and require less dust to make.

(L): The area becomes filled with static.  Creatures will notice feeling “tingly”.  Metal objects will become charged and stick together if brought into contact with each other.  Notably, if a weapon can transform, that weapon will be unable to shift while in the radius.  If creatures touch a metal object or another creature, they will receive a shock (akin to a minor
static shock).  Compasses and other objects affected by electric currents will start acting haywire, as if a magnet was placed directly on the object in question.  Interestingly, attacks using lightning dust might “arc” from the initial target to another within close range. 
 
(W): The area experiences in increase in wind activity, as heavy gales blow through.  Flying creatures experience mild turbulence, and light, loose objects get blown away. Useful for dispersing or spreading smoke and fire.

(K): Everything within the lantern’s light travels faster.  Bullets accelerate through the area, while running speeds are moderately increased.  Knockback effects are granted increased potency, and, generally speaking, attacks deal more damage
 
(G): Everything within the area experiences an increase in weight.  Movement speeds slow, bullets drop, weapons become harder to wield (but do more damage due to increased weight).

(F)(I): This burst effect generates a cloud of fog within the radius of the lantern. It will only last for a brief period (generally about 2 rounds of in-character combat) before being dispersed, it will not move (unless by a strong breeze or explosion or similar happenstance), though Lucas can create multiple fog clouds in rapid succession to simulate movement (though this quickly eats through his aura reserves).

(E)(L): This burst effect is Lucas's clever defense against electricity-based attacks. For a very short period (i.e., one round), electric attacks do no damage, electrical hazards are disabled, and on-going status effects resulting from electricity are removed. Unprotected devices, such as scrolls, may be forced to reboot.

(W)(K): This burst effect will create a concussive blast centered around the lantern that knocks away flat-footed enemies and potentially knocks flying enemies out of the sky. Particularly large fliers like Nevermores won't be taken out of the sky, but may potentially be knocked off-balance.


Combat Behavior:  If he’s alone, Lucas prefers to avoid combat if at all possible.  Ideally, he’d rather not have enemies know he was there at all.  If he needs to give enemies the slip, he can use his semblance or Sophist’s Lantern to make smoke screens and other distractions in order to give him a chance to hide or get away.

If he is forced into combat, Lucas will try to stick to long range with his weapon’s sniper form, and use the spectral lantern to harry his opponent(s) with environmental effects.  He’ll fight to escape, looking to mitigate the threat rather than outright eliminate it (i.e. freezing a pursuer’s legs, sealing off a corridor with earth dust, etc.).

Generally speaking, this kind of “flighty” fighting style lends itself to reconnaissance and “search and rescue” operations, both of which Lucas excels at.  Simply using the light from his semblance, he can distract Grimm while he evacuates   

Working in a group, however, changes how he fights.  He’d still prefer to use stealth if at all possible, but he’s very good at coordinating with allies in a wide variety of situations.  If the team he’s with is equipped to go in guns blazing, his semblance can enhance the damage of his compatriots while also covering for their weaknesses.  If the party needs to retreat, he can cover them with smokescreens.

In the event of pitched battle, Lucas’s first move will almost always be to hide, preferably in a spot with a good vantage point of the fight that’s within range for his semblance.  From that point, he’ll act as a phantom on the battlefield, hampering and debuffing enemies with his semblance while allies take them down.  He’ll often go through entire fights without firing a single shot, as shooting his weapon could reveal his position and force him to find a new spot to hide in.  If he does take a shot, it’s to cripple an opponent or to assist an ally in a way that his lantern alone couldn’t handle. 

The worst possible thing to happen to Lucas in a fight is to be forced into a melee.  While he has plenty of tools to give most opponents the slip, enemies that are particularly persistent or can see through his smokescreen shenanigans will find that he’s not particularly effective as an out-and-out combatant.  While Lucas can swing around the heavy Sophist’s Lantern and its dust effects, he’s not proficient in close-quarters combat.

Furthermore, if he tried to use his semblance to gain an advantage in melee, he’d be subject to the lantern’s effects as well (this also applies to his allies.  Teammates that prefer melee will often find themselves on the wrong side of Lucas’s abilities if either they or he make a wrong move).  If he can’t get away from an enemy, Lucas won’t be able to manipulate the battlefield to his favor.

It’s also worth noting that, while the lantern has an incredible leash range and doesn’t give away Lucas’s position, the area under the lantern’s influence isn’t very large.  Groups of intelligent opponents that split up will force Lucas to choose which enemy to target.

Furthermore, Lucas’s battle strategy hinges on him having dust.  If he doesn’t have dust, his semblance is reduced to nothing more than a glorified night light.  On top of that, Lucas can’t just keep feeding the lantern dust, either.  If his aura reserves run out, he, again, won’t be able to utilize dust effects.

Lastly, the lantern itself doesn’t do any damage.  By itself, Lucas’s semblance doesn’t accomplish anything, and is mostly just kind of annoying.
 
WEAPON

Name: Sophist’s Lantern

Primary Form: Sophist’s Lantern takes the shape of a large lantern. It has 8 “windows”, or compartments, each of which contains one type of dust save for one, which contains several cannisters that Lucas uses to create smokescreens with.  Only one of these windows opens, however, and Lucas chooses which compartment uses that window with a series of buttons located underneath the handle.  When the window opens, the lantern acts as a “dust thrower”, ejecting the dust in a manner akin to a flamethrower out in a 20ft cone.

Alternatively, the lantern is heavy, and Lucas can swing it at an opponent when forced into close quarters.  It makes a nice *thunk* sound when it connects.

Surprisingly, Sophist’s Lantern makes for a poor light source.

Secondary Form: A section extends from the bottom of the lantern that quickly transforms into a barrel, scope, action and everything else needed to form a sniper rifle.  The windows of the lantern become the butt of the gun, and the handle is moved to the side, allowing Lucas to still manipulate which type of dust he has primed.

Dust Functions: In lantern form

Fire:  A typical flamethrower.  Can do a lot of damage fairly quickly

Ice:  Freezes opponents caught in the blast

Earth:  Used to quickly erect a barrier of rock.

Wind:  Blasts enemies away

Lightning:  Shocks enemies within the cone, possibly causing them to drop anything they’re holding.

In rifle form

Fire:  The shot explodes on hit, causing extra damage.

Ice:  The shot freezes the target on hit.

Wind:  Enemies will be knocked back on hit.

Lightning:  Shocks enemies on hit, Possibly causing them to drop anything they’re holding.

Kinetic:  Knocks back any enemies hit, similar to wind dust.

History: Lucas created his weapon shortly before entering Haven, modifying it over the years to better suit his needs.  It used to function as a proper lantern as well, but scrapped that portion when he gained the ability to keep his semblance’s light on indefinitely. 
« Last Edit: July 23, 2022, 09:36:36 PM by ReaperJoe »
Smokey Emberstone Beacon 1st Year and the Immovable Gunslinger of Team DASE "I've got more than enough firepower to beat you" "You've only got one bullet!" "Like I said, more than enough"

Aurelia Lumen Beacon 3rd year and the Warhorse of Team (TBD)  "Lay down your weapons, lest you wish to taste my steel!"

Wabul "Toast" Paka Shade 1st year and the Acrobatic Swashbuckler of Team (TBD)  "Hey, I'm gonna go jump off a bridge, who's with me?"

Lucas Meridiem Beacon 1st year and the Hermit of Team CLVS  "What's so great about 'bittersweet'?"

Clara Meridiem Beacon 1st year and the Blast Magician of Team (TBD) "No one likes just plain ol' bitter"

August Flare Beacon 1st year and the would-be ruler of the world "Join me, and witness the Brightest Future!"

Hexcodes:
515151
FFD700
E55812
CCE9AE
Cyan
FFA400

Xarias Fury

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Re: Lucas Meridiem
« Reply #1 on: February 13, 2019, 09:22:46 AM »
Let's see...

Given that the lantern requires dust to work for multitude of effects, I'll suggest adding a time limit to how long those effects last. Or rather, how long the dust last.

Another point that needs clarification: Does the dust need to be inside the lantern? Or can he suddenly use a canister in hand, and the lantern a few hundred feet away jsut catches fire or ice or whatever?
Can he sense where the lantern is without seeing it? Does he have some sort of control or awareness of what happens around the lantern?

That's all for now.
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

ReaperJoe

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Re: Lucas Meridiem
« Reply #2 on: February 13, 2019, 02:55:38 PM »
I added a bit in the first two paragraphs of Aura and Semblance detailing the drain rates for dust and aura reserves, as well as detailing that he can sense "where" the lantern is, but not what's happening around the lantern (unless he's directly looking at it, of course).

I also added that the dust used for the semblance is taken directly from the stores in his weapon so he can manipulate the lantern effects from long range.

Let me know if I missed anything or need to change anything else.
Smokey Emberstone Beacon 1st Year and the Immovable Gunslinger of Team DASE "I've got more than enough firepower to beat you" "You've only got one bullet!" "Like I said, more than enough"

Aurelia Lumen Beacon 3rd year and the Warhorse of Team (TBD)  "Lay down your weapons, lest you wish to taste my steel!"

Wabul "Toast" Paka Shade 1st year and the Acrobatic Swashbuckler of Team (TBD)  "Hey, I'm gonna go jump off a bridge, who's with me?"

Lucas Meridiem Beacon 1st year and the Hermit of Team CLVS  "What's so great about 'bittersweet'?"

Clara Meridiem Beacon 1st year and the Blast Magician of Team (TBD) "No one likes just plain ol' bitter"

August Flare Beacon 1st year and the would-be ruler of the world "Join me, and witness the Brightest Future!"

Hexcodes:
515151
FFD700
E55812
CCE9AE
Cyan
FFA400

Xarias Fury

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Re: Lucas Meridiem
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2019, 07:54:35 PM »
+1
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

Moth

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Re: Lucas Meridiem
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2019, 01:36:10 PM »
Lucas is a well-written  character, but there’s a few things regarding his semblance that need to be addressed before his second approval:

- A range of 300 ft is a bit much, so there's been a polite request to nerf it from a decent chunk of the staff.
- How does Lucas apply dust effects to his lantern? Are they applied while it’s within the initial summoning range, or are they flatup shot out to the lantern, and if so, can they be intercepted? Either way, the current implication is that the dust flatup teleports 300 feet out to his lantern, and if that’s how it’s done, it should be mentioned.

Edit 2/21: Semblance range and Lucas’ status as a SCF for the lantern approved via Discord. Another possible weakness brought to attention via Staff Discussion was the fact that his F/I dust combination blocks the lantern’s own light, and therefore disables its own dust effects, since the light is what causes it explicitly - so that might be worth tweaking.
« Last Edit: February 21, 2019, 10:40:18 AM by Moth »
Prism Skylark - Beacon First Year, Winged Sharpshooter and Leader of Team CASA (Casanova) #ffffff

Chantou Rou - Beacon First Year, Insect-Eyed Rebel of Team LGGR (Lager) #ff82a4

Albrecht Clodwal - Beacon First Year, White Knight Nice-Guy of Team CNRS (Cinerous) #00a4a4

Azre and Erza Sundown- Shade First Years, Fallen Stars of Team RASB (Raspberry) #fe2d00, #feab00

Jima Purpora - Beacon Third Year, Grimm-Obsessed Scholar of Team PLSM (Plasma) #6e3aa8

Moth

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Re: Lucas Meridiem
« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2019, 04:19:46 PM »
+1! I look forwards to seeing Lucas in action :D

(Could another staff member mind moving Lucas please?)
Prism Skylark - Beacon First Year, Winged Sharpshooter and Leader of Team CASA (Casanova) #ffffff

Chantou Rou - Beacon First Year, Insect-Eyed Rebel of Team LGGR (Lager) #ff82a4

Albrecht Clodwal - Beacon First Year, White Knight Nice-Guy of Team CNRS (Cinerous) #00a4a4

Azre and Erza Sundown- Shade First Years, Fallen Stars of Team RASB (Raspberry) #fe2d00, #feab00

Jima Purpora - Beacon Third Year, Grimm-Obsessed Scholar of Team PLSM (Plasma) #6e3aa8

ReaperJoe

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Re: Lucas Meridiem
« Reply #6 on: July 23, 2022, 09:40:41 PM »
EDITS:
Lucas is younger now!
Lucas is now a 1st year Beacon Student!
History changed to reflect his status as a young Beacon Student
Personality rewritten
Semblance nerfed, added "burst effects"
Smokey Emberstone Beacon 1st Year and the Immovable Gunslinger of Team DASE "I've got more than enough firepower to beat you" "You've only got one bullet!" "Like I said, more than enough"

Aurelia Lumen Beacon 3rd year and the Warhorse of Team (TBD)  "Lay down your weapons, lest you wish to taste my steel!"

Wabul "Toast" Paka Shade 1st year and the Acrobatic Swashbuckler of Team (TBD)  "Hey, I'm gonna go jump off a bridge, who's with me?"

Lucas Meridiem Beacon 1st year and the Hermit of Team CLVS  "What's so great about 'bittersweet'?"

Clara Meridiem Beacon 1st year and the Blast Magician of Team (TBD) "No one likes just plain ol' bitter"

August Flare Beacon 1st year and the would-be ruler of the world "Join me, and witness the Brightest Future!"

Hexcodes:
515151
FFD700
E55812
CCE9AE
Cyan
FFA400

Vision

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Re: Lucas Meridiem
« Reply #7 on: July 24, 2022, 03:52:59 AM »
Edits approved

Diana Levone - Beacon First year - Leader and Medic of team Digital (DGTL)
[color= #839CA5]""[/ color]
Bastet Nin - Haven First year - Blinking Glaive Skirmisher of team Rewind (RWND)
[color= #F2B233]""[/ color]