What this guy's rank could be is sort of an enigma, so I'd like some help; he could be a diplomatic/tactical advisor or just the ship's chaplain. He could even be the captain, honestly, but he's definitely footsoldier material, like an away-team bodyguard.

Oh, and I have way more backstory written up for this guy in case it's needed.

Name: Valar Ad. Aurymni (Formerly), Valar St. Aurymni (Formerly), Valorum (Present)

Race:  Unknown (Formerly), Vodyani (Present)

Rank: Admiral (Formerly), Second Mate/Saviour's Chaplain (Present)

Area of Expertise: Diplomacy, Systems Administration, Large-Scale Combat (Space and Ground), Fleet Coordination, CQC, Endless Xenology, Religious Lore. (Coloured based on political impact.)

Personality: Like that of a knight and priest; fair, loyal, and honourable, as well as introspective, philosophical, collected, and most importantly, very formal. Has a reassuring presence, but is almost too empathetic for a Vodyani. Though he despises the idea of pain and death, Valorum swiftly becomes enraged and violent when an ally is wounded in front of him and is ruthless in close-quarters combat as a result.

Bio:

Valar Ad. Aurymni was an Admiral of the Vodyani's 2nd Fleet of Absolute Salvation. Having built a career in the Church of the Virtual Saints on his expert negotiations and ruthless conquests, Admiral Valar is sort of famous, especially in Sheredyn and Vodyani space, for his work. His career came to a halt when, while protecting an allied Sheredyn colony in lieu of the overtaxed Sheredyn fleets, he was attacked by a massive Craver invasion force. For 5 years, he fought to keep the system safe, first losing most of his fleet before landing what military forces he could on the colony and ordering the fleet to retreat, then losing most of his ground forces defending the colony before local Sheredyn reserves could be mobilised and reinforce him. His ultimate undoing, however, was the accidental activation of an Endless temple on the colony's moon and being exposed to the dust stores within. Going into a temporary coma, Valar was assailed by what he believed to be the spirits of the beings he had consumed begging him to make their sacrifices worthwhile. Waking up months later and seeing as reinforcements arrived from friendly space, the newly sired St. Aurymni departed the planet, but soon left the fold of the Church as well after realising his exposure to dust severed the Hierarch's control of his suit. Believing that 'the spirits of the gods' had shown him these visions, St Aurymni harboured a newfound guilt for his once divine form and wanted to shield his brothers and sisters of the cloth from such a horrid truth, so he left, never to return. Almost immediately, St. Aurymni found old friends among the Sheredyn, who gave him sanctuary in their system nearby. It was there he began to tackle his hunger for essence with rigorous monastic training, earning him even greater respect among his non-Vodyani peers.

His training is far from complete, but with the story of the expedition to Tor having reached his ears, the former saint now dubbed 'Valorum' has taken to the Saviour to join the crew. He hopes to find the homeworld of his gods and learn why they have cursed him with this immeasurable guilt, and if something exists that can free his brethren from their holy 'cloth' before it's curse strangles them. His equipment includes several Vodyani clerical implements (like various incenses and a censer), Stormbreaker (an energy glaive with a telescoping shaft so it can change to a sword and back; his weapon of choice during ground battles), a Vodyani assault rifle, and his vampiric gauntlet (a 'survival tool' for high-ranking Vodyani that lets them drain the essence from a single living being through prolonged contact). His only known power from Dust infusion is his 'holy rage', where his 'cloth' is empowered with superhuman strength, speed, and endurance, though it's believed his resilience to the need for essence is a side-effect of his infusion too.

EDIT: Added some small changes in post.

Thanks! I went through a few contortions trying to find out how Valorum might fit into the crew. I'm beginning to lean towards the idea of him being the ship's chaplain, or considering his mixed skill-set, a very religious first-mate, but regardless of what his job is, if something happens to the acting captain, there's at least someone with experience who can step up aside from the first mate.

Honestly, interacting with Decius is something I look forward to having Val do. And you never know; two fighters from ravenous, militaristic races on their own quests for redemption? Maybe they'll be better friends than anyone on the ship, despite Val's history!

AngelicStorm wrote:

Oh, and I have way more backstory written up for this guy in case it's needed.

Even more? No need to post it, it would just prevent us from having the fun of finding out in character.

Anyway, let's see. Judging Vodyani lore is still a bit difficult, since we don't have the full picture yet, but one thing of note: Vodyani gain a Saint name when their consciousness merges with that of an Virtual Endless, otherwise they go by with a single name (which is perfectly okay for a low-population culture). In four of the five known cases, this seemed to have happened in ways outside of the church's control (we only don't know how the Hierarch got her Saint), so it's more likely he's St. Aurumni now instead of back then. If he doesn't want anyone to know his Saint title, it's of course fine if he insist on just being Valorum.

Given how ruthless and xenocidic the Vodyani are actually shown in the game, we have to assume he protected that Sheredyn colony as a food source. If not, adding the word "allied" in there somewhere would prevent misunderstandings.

Based on the parallels between the Broken Lords and the Vodyani, he could probably live off eating Dust alone, but it's probably not very tasty compared to "Essence". Sort of like having to eat porridge for the rest of your life.

But in general, well done on giving him a story that justifies his working with "lesser races". You're approved (which doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about the above nitpicks. They're just so minor that you're approved anyway), and I'll put him down as Chaplain and 2nd Mate for now. I'd love to bump him up to Captain when the time comes, but it's problematic given that it's a religious mission by a different religion. It'd be like putting a Muslim in charge of a Christian crusade. You can certainly have 1st Mate, though, once the time comes.

His extended backstory touches on all of those nitpicks. I can send it to you in a private message if you want. And I wanted him to have something of a minor Dust power, but I was hesitant to ask.

To start, Valorum is sort of famous for dealing more honourably with the Sheredyn than with other races. He respected them in a patronising, 'favourite pet' sort of way, and he's gained a greater respect for them and other races since the Sheredyn have helped him to restrain his cravings for Essence. Even before that, if Val was defending a Sheredyn colony, he was doing so as a legitimate protectorate, not to keep the Cravers away from his 'food'. I'll make that distinction, though.

For another thing, Val had built a long, successful career on peerless diplomacy and vicious conquest in the name of the church. If anything, before his Dust infusion, the title 'Saint Aurumni' was an honorary one, like how some celebrities have celebrity names (Pitbull, Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, etc). People who knew him personally would have called him Valuar, but his subordinates and other races would know him as 'St. Aurumni'.

I didn't think of the possibility of Val consuming Dust as sustenance like a Broken Lord, though. I was more focused on him draining any pirates that attack the ship or wildlife that ambushes the away-team with his vampiric gauntlet to remain sustained, so it'd be like he's observing a fast of some kind. Still, if Dust is an alternative, Val will get his sustenance however he can.

Otherwise, I'm glad you like him! Being a humble chaplain will help him avoid attention on the ship that he'd rather not have. Am I free to post?

I'm Just curious... Should I design our ship off of one of the pictures posted here, or do I have free reign within the constraints already put down? (such as the length and width and what rooms are already available?)

And do we each have separate state rooms, or is it one big bunk room?

Is that in Alice's character or role? In what circumstance would she become captain?

Just curious.

I don't understand that question. Those two options aren't really mutually exclusive alternatives. Everything posted so far, and that includes the pictures, are constraints on what the ship design is like.

My question to Alien was which picture I should base my ship design on. There were two pictures. Do you want me to draw it off:

This one?

Let's call this guy Number One for the answers

Or this one?

Let's call this guy Number Two for the answers

Ylona is still there. I just haven't answered yet. (I haven't been busy as such, but I wanted the "thing in our storage" part of the story to play out a bit more so that we're not too far ahead in the timeline on the bridge)

Also, that question still doesn't make sense. Those pictures show exactly the same model, just from different angles. If you want to make schematics, I suggest using the isometric one, instead of the fancy perspective one.

AngelicStorm wrote:

So there's basically a barracks on the ship full of bunk-beds and night-stands.

More like one room of a barracks, since the total crew is about 20 people, but yes. Imagine having to cram a hospital, an astronomy, biology and archaeology institute and a factory into the same 45 x 45 x 200 m³ space. Things will get cramped.