Name: Joachim Barset Percuss


Monster Information




State: Poltergeist. Previously human.


Existential Information*: A poltergeist is a coherent center of energy grounded by a unifying will. The type of energy is almost totally irrelevent - so long as it promotes the movement and vibration of particles, a poltergeist can drain the force involved and fuel its own matrix with it. Heat and electricity are the sources of choice. Kinetic energy is comparatively inefficient and difficult to drain, and most atomic reaction processes (fusion/fission) are far too energetic to safely siphon off of.

The process by which a poltergeist is "born" is frustratingly difficult to pin down. They largely seem to come from humans with notably strong wills, morals or ideals that die in some sort of large energy event such as fires or lightning strikes. The "will", disconnected from its body, draws in ambient energy and uses it to ground itself in existence rather than perishing. The great majority die quickly before they can comprehend their new existence, as their energy matrix diffuses into the surrounding area naturally. Those few who do not find themselves in a state of effective immortality, so long as they continue to seek out new sources of energy.

A great deal of circumstancial evidence indicates that poltergeists are also capable of feeding from emotional reactions, and require such alongside their energy consumption in order to continue existing, but as this is nigh-impossible to accurately measure, it remains a hypothesis.

Poltergeists may influence the physical world by expending energy to directly manipulate the mass in question, without the troublesome interference of air resistance, friction, or any of Newton's laws, as they possess no natural mass of their own. In simplest terms: telekinesis. Joachim's maximum force output, despite his age, is only five hundred pounds or so; while there are a great many shortcuts he may take in lengthening his efficiency, he has reached the limit of his capacity.

Magic has truly curious interactions with the existence of a poltergeist, as depending on the medium it takes, it may be directly absorbed into the poltergeist's matrix or it may blast entire portions of it away, fracturing its personality, power and self-awareness. Experimentation is not recommended.

* I tend towards very exact terminology. If this section is illegible, don't worry - I don't write dialogue like this. That'd be obtuse.


Physical Information: Poltergeists, unfortunately, do not possess physical bodies. While Joachim is capable of exerting force or creating mass, these physical signs do not exist without conscious input from the poltergeist himself, who exists as a coherent mass of pure energy, similar to ball lightning. The grand majority of physical phenomena do not therefore concern him (although outer space operates on a cosmic scale of energy easily capable of scattering his personal matrix and obliterating Joachim's consciousness, so he generally tries to stay within the protective envelope of a planet's atmosphere).

When resting there is almost no method of detecting Joachim, or indeed any practiced poltergeist, as they naturally conserve and contain their energy to prevent waste, leaving nothing to detect or trace. When active, however, he is generally perceptible as a cold area that tends to make electric devices fail. This symptoms may be cloaked as well, but it is an expensive process in terms of energy.



Personal Information



Gender: Male



Age: 56 at time of transmigration to poltergeist. Currently 221 years experienced total.



Personality and History: Joachim lived a very straightforward life. Utilitarian and empathic, he believed that the natural state of the universe is a amoral abyss, and that it was the duty of man to fill it with the values it could not normally produce, such as compassion and mercy. It was a hardline moral stand that he held until his death, when a freak forest wildfire consumed eighty-four acres of forest and killed four other people, a violent enough event to trigger his transition into a poltergeist.

Existence as a poltergeist has twisted his perspective, although the bare bones of it still remain. Courtesy is embedded so deeply in his psyche that he is no longer capable of rudeness to another sentient being. He still prefers to avert pain and suffering where he can do so, even though those are some of the strongest fuel-emotions that humans possess. Instead, humor is his preferred tool of choice, as humans instinctively share laughter and enjoyment, a primal pack reflex that benefits him tremendously.

However, when it comes to the matter of extending his own existence, Joachim is implacable. He has been existing for a very long time now, and he does not intend to cease. While he will inflict as little pain or discomfort as possible during the process (it is distasteful to him, and he is no longer capable of altering his own tastes), the naked truth is that Joachim will have what he needs, or he will take it.

It is worth mentioning that it is possible to insult Joachim so deeply that he reclassifies the subject as a nonsentient, a thing without real import or intelligence, merely reflex actions and learned behavior. Such things do not deserve courtesy, consideration, or thought. It is very difficult to offend him that badly, however.

He came to Shoukosu largely as an accident; he was haunting a scientist who invaded his natural habitat. When she panicked and canceled the trip, returning to N.I.C.E. Laboratories, he was nestled within the woman, passive and sated. Even inactive, the journey very nearly killed him, and he swiftly escaped from the laboratory and made his way to Shoukosu High, where it took two years as a mewling weakling, constantly feeding, for him to recover from the process. He is now trapped within this school for what is very likely to be the rest of his existence, as he is unwilling to risk a second voyage. That said, the peculiarities of this new place appeal to him. It makes obtaining his necessary fuel so much easier and unremarkable.

It is rare for Joachim to verbalize anything - it is wasteful and unnecessary. When he does, however, he creates the sound directly within his target's ear at a reduced volume. Quite literally, they hear a voice in their head. His words contain a slight American South burr when he is relaxed, and are perfect in diction and pronounciation when he is not.

Traits: As his continued existence depends on his surety of self, Joachim has a number of invariable and definite personality traits. Honesty is foremost among these; he is literally incapable of lying, and has no desire to at any point. Courtesy is also invariably present in his dealings with other sentients, as is a deep, wry streak of humor, honed with two centuries of practice.

He is also a survivor to the core - it is his foremost priority, and more importantly, he does not consider courtesy to be relevant when it would impede his continued survival, as if he dies he loses the capability to be courteous at any point. Having hunted to feed himself for five decades has also given him a bloody-minded, efficient perspective, reinforced by his deadly honesty. If it does not possess true sentience he does not care for it. This has also made him dismissive of technology and the "march of progress" so embedded in the recent human generations.



Fighting Style: Joachim is brutally efficient when hunting, locking the tendons in his prey's legs with a direct clamp of force while he extracts what he needs, whatever that may be. In a fight for survival he is far worse - against anything physical he manifests a violent shockwave directly behind his opponent's eyes, which, against almost anything not a stalk-eyed fly, rips the optic nerve to shreds and concusses the brain with enough force to mangle the delicate tissue. This is generally instantaneously lethal. Against anything nonphysical, Joachim prefers to either negotiate or flee as quickly as possible; he does not enjoy taking chances. This includes potential opponents who wield magic, a force he does not understand or trust in the least; he either neutralizes them before they can act or gets the hell away.



Sexual Oddities: When he is not hunting, Joachim is a very gentle lover, and contemptuous of the methods of the other monsters on campus - to him, sexuality is not achieved by brute forcing endomorphins (pleasure) upon the subject, drowning them in aphrodisiacs and stimuli, and just reducing the girl to little more than a sexual tool. Intimacy is, inherently, both a physical and mental act, and Joachim delights in applying his imagination and creativity to sex in order to create the intriuge and fascination so linked with the act. In his lifetime he greatly preferred consensual sex, and that preference has carried over, but by necessity Joachim has become accustomed other methods.

If he is hunting, most of the above still applies. His partner just doesn't get a choice in it anymore.

A few problems.

1: No monsters can be from Earth.
2: It's not that long a trip to Shokushu...

And finally, it may just be me, but it's not that clear what he does to rape girls... especally since he can't really possess any NPC students... Might be able to rape them in their dreams though.

Thank you for that first bit of information, I'd not realized that.

Outer space is filled with cosmic radiation - the sort of thing that would give us skin cancer in seconds if not for our atmosphere. Being an entity of energy, Joachim would be like a puddle hit by a tidal wave: lost in the mess.

To simplify it, he's basically telekinetic. He skips the step of moving things with limbs, and moves them directly with his "mind".

I've removed information pertaining to his existence on Earth and clarified his powers a bit. Is there anything else that needs cleaning up?

Hate to say it, but you still got referances to Earth... since all students come from Earth...

A poltergeist is a nice idea, dude. But if the references to Earth are an hassle, why not consider an 'alien' poltergeist? -shrugs-

Although, one could also go with an energy-based lifeform that had a nasty run-in with cosmic radiation, given the whole "Energy cannot be destroyed, only converted into another form" thing.

Drat.

Retconned the girl into a N.I.C.E. scientist on an expedition or discovery or something equally inane. Joachim latched onto her, and survived her return to the N.I.C.E. labs, which he fled instantly, making his way to Shoukosu High.

Thanks, Forny - I thought I'd add something a little offbeat to the board, as it sounds like (to the ears of this uninitiated one) you have a surplus of B-Movie candidates. I can try retrofitting Joachim as totally alien, but then I'd have to give him a spaceman persona and that's just no fun.

-shrugs- No one said he had to come with a spaceman persona. Your character, isn't he? The rules are just there to preserve the theme of the site and encourage members to follow that. But apart from that, it's your playground. Me, I've always been a believer of understanding the system so you can exploit it to your advantage. Granted, it works for games best but... You strike me as a fellow intellectual, so if I can do that, so can you. All the same, imagination is such a wonderful thing to waste.

Imagine. It's a great habit.

Also, Bruce Campbell is God.

I've no clue how you saw through my non-clever camoflauge. Oh Noes!

In the interests of IC believability I prefer to have explanations in place for my character's personalities. Although, frankly, no Earth monsters is a terrible loss. What about poor Slenderman?

Doesn't exist here.

A useful answer, indeed.

And one more thing I noticed... Monsters will not be "Gentle Lovers" at any point, as per this rule:
? It is NOT ?
A Dating/Romance board -
This had become a problem in the IRC channel so it is addressed here to help people act and scene appropriately to the theme of the board. The student body here is contantly at the mercy of evil lust-crazed monsters. They are terrified and repulsed by them. The monsters view the students as the targets of their lust. Students should not cuddle up against monsters. Monsters should not ask students out for romantic strolls along the beach. Monsters should NEVER apply ' 'tender kisses'. It is understood that some monsters' mode of attack is to appear as a normal person ... lull the student into a false sense of security and/or seduce them ... then when escape is impossible reveal their true nature and attack. Some monsters however, have forgotten to attack! Monsters who do not act monsterous are not monsters and they have no place in the board. Similarly, when a student realizes that a monster is indeed a foul creature she should act as if her person is in jeapordy. She should not sit on the couch with a monster and scratch him behind the ears. If a monster and student wish to be a bit more tender to each other than the board intends they should go private or go somewhere else.


And something else I kind of question.. Given that the starships would be shielded from intersteller radiation... how could it affect him that much? Now, I study Astronomy, and I know that even metals as thin as 3 sheets of tinfoil was enough to protect humans...

Personally, I don't see how he could be a 'gentle lover'. If he doesn't want to destroy a woman physically, I think he could pull off an intellectual character who could destroy a woman mentally. Temporarily shut down resistances and the like. Not that I'm able to play monsters, just thinking that I'd love to RP with this character.

As I don't intend to RP Joachim with students anytime except during one of his hunts, that's largely just background information. The only relevance it would have is that IC, he wouldn't pointlessly terrorize his prey. Why would a predator chase away his prey?

Humans, and indeed most surface life forms, are remarkably resistant to solar radiation. Our skin, for example, is a multi-layered net that absorbs radiation and literally peels off when it absorbs a given amount, preventing it from interfering with the main body. Beta and gamma radiation tend to be similarly caught before they can penetrate too deeply and cause damage to any vital organs. That's the cause behind radiation 'burns', or sunburns - they're caused by radiation halted before it can do serious damage.

As a nonphysical entity, Joachim has no such shielding, and tends to develop the energistic version of cancer (corrupted information strings in the matrix of his personality) quickly. In addition, it's space - there is almost no ambient energy or mass at all, save free-floating hydrogen. It was remarkably difficult for him to prevent his own diffusion in the void of space.

Squee!

Squee? Excited that we drew attention, are we?