Veloci-Rapture

Let's see if I can't dodge this pounce! (I've got a total of +5 worth of buffs, usable in either a +3 [Leo's], a +2 [Assyrin's] or all together; I will be using the minimum amount necessary to get above @HollowCipher's roll) d20 me! Edit: Oh are you fucking kidding me?? SERIOUSLY?

@sorainvoked loved that post! But one quick note: Leo doesn't have a gun, just a warhammer. Also, he's 3 feet tall. 😄

The gate opened, and Leo watched stoically as the hellhounds rushed towards the group. The smallest one towered above him; it's slavering jaws could swallow his whole head in a single bite. Even still, the halfling remained in place; he spread his feet and hefted his hammer, waiting for the crucial moment. The moment... of.... commitment! As soon as the beast committed to its lunge, Leo dropped and rolled underneath it, using his small size to his advantage and coming in under its guard. He had slightly mis-timed, however; the hot breath and searing pain of teeth on his shoulder brought forth a grimace, but he held to his course. He came up behind the beast with his hammer in one hand, and the creature's leg in the other. With a quick flex of muscle, his grip tightened on the hellhound's ankle, eliciting both a crack of delicate bone and a yelp of pain and anger. Before it could turn on him, Leo swung his hammer one-handed, landing two solid blows to the big dog's ribs. "May your soul find mercy with Gaia!" he thundered as he dropped the hellhound's leg and stepped back again into a defensive position. "For you shall find none from me!"

Rolling to dodge @HollowCipher

I'll have a post up tonight. I've got it this time, promise!

Awesome! Thanks! @supernal give me a couple of days to chew on this character concept, and I'll post a write-up in the usual spot.

Ok, so, after reading all of that, and the founder's page on the different orders, and then scouring their history for information on that weird dark-elf thing at the end of the canon thread, I have a rockin idea. So, near the end, Vivine implied that the horrific child-spiders were her "sister's retainers". That means there's another one of her kind somewhere. So what if she comes looking, but Vivine took off (would have to ask @Jotnotes if Kian would have stayed in the city or not, but if he didn't, then we can just say Vivine went with him, and if he did, well, we'll burn that bridge when we cross it), so nuts on that part, but BUT! These critters are sly and manipulative and power-hungry emotional vampires (according to the User Lore page), so maybe she hangs around to try and worm her way into the power structure. THAT is a character I can play confidently. Minus the "no lies" part, I'd have to get a little better are verbal slipperiness to make that work, but it'd be a fun exercise! That would put me at odds with anyone else moving in, and has a lot of potential for conflict, drama, and change!

That makes perfect sense. In fact, that's even better. I'll start reading the canon thread and if (or, let's be honest, when) it sparks any more concrete ideas, I'll hit you up with a couple. I'm excited!

Your spitballs are always curves and sliders, but they still stick to the ceiling just fine, so absolutely! Are you looking for someone to take over the current leaders and keep the place marching forward, or are you looking for someone to come in, stage a coup, and shake the whole place up? I could see this going either way.

Dude, this is... pretty badass. I'd love to have a piece of this, but damned if I can think of a way to change it up. I'd just, like, put try to put together a group of knights that would be the first official multi-disciplinary unit and have them get into all kinds of high stakes reality-show shenanigans. I'd have to carefully read the canon thread first to get the feeling down, but right now this kind of calls to me.

Can I change my screenname to Veloci');DROP TABLE Members;-- ?

If someone's giving out sanity, Leo could use a little bit of topping off.

Horror and blood and chaos had melted around Leo like a painting splashed with turpentine, only to be reformed by a new artist; less deranged, perhaps, but no less sadistic. The arena rose up around him, towering over the three-foot halfling like the sky-scraping buildings in Ignatz, and the roar of the crowd seated therein threatened to deafen him. Over that din rose the voice of a single person, a voice filled with such jarring dichotomy that Leo shivered. Leo hefted his warhammer up onto his shoulder and looked at others trapped in the arena with him. He recognized Ed, and a couple of others, but the rest hadn't been present in the hellscape he'd just left behind. That place had been a hot, horrifying maze, but it at least held the promise of escape. There was no such comfort, false or otherwise, here. "This kid wants a show? Well Leo Manville will give him the best show he's ever SEEN!" The halfling took a deep breath, and thrust his warhammer into the sky like a tiny conqueror celebrating an inevitable victory, his voice rising above the cacophony: "GAIA'S STRENGTH WILL PREVAIL!" His corded muscles flexed and his skin seemed to shine briefly with a golden light. Leo held the pose for five, six, seven seconds, letting the crowd and his compatriots see what true manly confidence looked like. Then he exhaled, bringing his hammer back down across his body in a two-handed, wide-legged defensive stance. "BRING IT ON!"