MISERY

[MISERY 1]

MISERY
 

Name: Adam Church Gender: Male Age: 28 DOB: March 8th Height: 6'3" Weight: 205lbs Nationality: American

HISTORY
There's no easy way to explain Adam's origins, because he himself is unaware of them.

Some years ago, he woke up in New York City. His black hair was bloodied, though the liquid had congealed into sticky, matted hysteria. There was blood on his hands, too, though it was still fresh. Wet, warm, and its original red coloration. A far cry from the mess that covered his aching brain, which had blended into the rest of the obsidian strands.

He wasn't sure how he had gotten there. He wasn't even sure who he was. Every time he tried to remember, the only word that came to mind was "Adam." Being that he woke in an alley beside a church, the last name that he decided on only seemed fitting.

The strange thing about not knowing who you were before, is that you have no way of knowing who you are now. He still had his faculties. Walking and talking came with no issue. He even knew where he was when he woke, and was able to navigate back to an apartment in which he apparently resided on instinct alone. Reading, too, it seemed, was something of which he was capable. In fact, he enjoyed it. Tales of murder were of particular intrigue, for whatever reason. Jack the Ripper felt acutely familiar to Adam, but he couldn't put his finger on why. In fact, despite the kinship he felt with Jack, he loathed the way he conducted his business. Jack was messy, and only got away with what he did because the law enforcement at the time was ill-equipped to find him. Sloppy work. Adam could do better.

All he needed was the opportunity. Virtual reality was a good place to practice. He could learn how to behave methodically, and pull the strings of others to accomplish his goals. So when the first full-dive technology was announced, he preordered it instantly.

He wasn't the first to enter the game. Or the second. Or even the nine-thousandth. Adam believes he was likely the last person to enter the game. As news spread on launch day regarding the dangerous of the NerveGear, and how it trapped its users within the virtual world, anyone who had not yet dove in certainly wouldn't. Why trap themselves? It was a sentiment that Adam didn't share. It was the fact that those who had used the machine were now trapped within it that he dove in himself. He wanted to be a part of that environment. He wanted it to be real.

Luckily, it seems as though someone found him on the outside, otherwise he surely would have perished by now. Little did they know the MISERY they would allow to persist in Aincrad.


APPEARANCE
Few have seen what lies beyond the mask. From day one, Adam has worn vanity items over his usual equipment to conceal his identity. To most, he would appear to be more mob than human, his body seemingly comprised of an amorphous pool of blood. Bony appendages will occasionally reach beyond the viscous concoction to strike his opponents, move objects, or otherwise gesture in lieu of his actual hands. Other grotesque features will occasionally manifest within the mixture of obsidian and crimson, such as eyeballs, gnashing sets of unsettling human-like teeth, or skulls of creatures impossible to discern. A featureless white mask sits atop the mass as a substitute for an actual visage, making reading his facial expressions impossible. Most often, one will find MISERY cradling a book, which can evidently be seen through the holes in the mask.

VIRTUES
MANIPULATIVE
This is a particularly powerful trait for a man like Adam. Through its lens, he can make others do his bidding, rather than needing to get his hands dirty himself. Whether through crafting a story the compels others to do what he needs, bribery, blackmail, or physical force, he can manipulate the populace in ways that one might struggle to even imagine. In this way, his powers of intervention scale far beyond his own physical limitations. He is constrained only by the number of people he can convince to support his cause, either willingly or unwillingly.

INTELLIGENT
One can't get far in this regard without first having the intelligence to back it up. It's one thing to set people on a path, but another to ensure they stay the course, let alone produce the outcome you're hoping for. Adam is a man that thinks several steps ahead, and already has his fingers wrapped around the strings he needs to pull. Nothing is on accident, and everything is a means to an end. In a game where you view everyone as pawns, and aim to control both sides of the board, your power needs to extend beyond how many creatures you can slay or quests you can complete. To this end, Adam values his intelligence as his fiercest and most effective weapon.

ADAPTIVE
But beyond all else, one must be capable of improvising. Being tactical and intelligent can only carry you so far. In a world with so many unknowns, the true puppet master understands that there will be situations they will need to adapt to. Adam sees this as nothing more than committing the occasional reactive maneuver in a game of chess. Every now and then, your opponent will do something that will both surprise and bewilder you. If you can overcome these obstacles and stay the course with grace and agility, your victory is almost certainly assured.

FLAWS
ARROGANT
A problem with being so capable and twisted is that one might eventually lose sight of the possibility of loss. Adam is so self-assured in his competence that he legitimately believes he cannot lose; that there is nobody capable of outwitting him and coming out on top. It is because of this that he may become frenzied and angry should he actually be outplayed, no matter how rare of an occurrence that might be.

WEAK
Physically, Adam is not a strong individual. It is because of this that he often works from the shadows, orchestrating his bizarre and heinous machinations through pulling the strings of others. One does not need to be strong if they can get others to be strong for them. Despite having found his solution, Adam's physical weakness is not lost on him, and it is an inadequacy that riddles his thoughts with doubt in times of distress. Though the engine of the game may allow him to perform feats no human should attempt, one will find that in times where the system isn't running the show, Adam lacks the power to do much of anything.

TROUBLED
Adam is aware of the evil wrought by his actions. Though most of him gets off on the sheer thrill of wrongness, there are small pieces of him that experience doubt, and perhaps even regret. But as a person who has done so much wrong, there is nobody to turn to in times of doubt. He internalizes these emotions, digests them, and uses them to further the misery of others. On occasion, though, one might see bits and pieces of this doubt brought to the surface. However fleeting, there are signs that Adam could indeed be human, were these features not shrouded beneath the evil that infects everything else.

 

Edited February 16, 2020 by MISERY

[MISERY 1]

STATS

MISERY Level: 11 HP: 220 Energy: 22 DMG: 1 MIT: 27 Thorns: 18 Bleed 2 Regen 2

EQUIPMENT

Currently Equipped Ordmordeo Tier One; Rare Two-Handed Battle Axe An amalgamation of mismatched bones held stiffly together by an unseen but foreboding force. They have taken the shape of a scythe. Bleed | Bleed Blood Veil Tier One; Perfect Heavy Armor Only a Grandmaster of the craft is capable of producing work such as this. Rather than typical plates of metal, it is thick iron content that whirls within the strange liquid concoction that masks the wearer that provides protection, as well as a bite against those foolish enough to attack them. MIT | MIT | Thorns Unsettling Mask Tier One; Perfect Heavy Armor The mask is basic and featureless, with only three small holes dotting its smooth surface. Two allow the wearer to see, while the third modulates their voice into a sinister cacophony. Thorns | Regen | Regen - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In Inventory Ominous Shroud Tier One; Rare Heavy Armor Punish those who seek to destroy you. MIT | Thorns Cassim's Golden Ring Tier One; Perfect Trinket Sin favors you. LD | LD | +1 Stealth Rating Gloves of Caerus Tier One; Perfect Light Armor These gloves grant the wearer inordinate luck. LD | LD | LD

SKILLS

Hiding; Rank Two Blend into your surroundings, making it harder for monsters and other players to sense your presence and detect you. +2 Stealth rating Familiar Mastery: Protector; Rank One Your familiar helps defend you from enemy attacks. +9 MIT

SP

SP Total: 25 SP Spent: 13 SP Available: 12 Character created: +5 SP Hiding; Rank One purchased: -5 SP Thread completed: +2 SP Thread completed: +3 SP Thread completed: +2 SP Thread completed: +3 SP Hiding; Rank Two purchased: -8 SP Thread completed: +10 SP

 

Edited September 8 by MISERY

[Lessa 1]